Park University Top Questions

I have received a wealth of knowledge and experiences from my college experiences. College is not just a place to learn, but alos a place to grow and make life long friends. College is the first place that I learned that I can continue to serve my community by teach a new generation of students. President Obama's goals of getting college students to realize that they are the immediate future. I look forward to using those skills to continue to serve my community. As a veteran of the United States Air Force, I understand the impact that an education can have on a nation. I thank Park University for providing me with the opportunity to gain new skills to strenghten the training that I received in the United States Air Force. It is a pleasure to serve my community and country men and women. I currently work for the United States Veterans Administration. It is my pleasure to continue to serve veterans, civillians, and armed forces members. Our countries educational values and quest for knowledge and justice give every U.S. citizen the chance to pursue life, liberty and happiness.

College is much more than just an educational experience. It is also considered a life experience in my opinion. I say that because my eyes were opened when I first went off to college. It was a whole new world for someone like me that was not familiar with the city life. It was exciting, adventurous, weird, and a little on the scary side. Unfamiliar people in an unfamiliar world. That changed quickley to life long friends and unforgettable experiences that can only be found on the college campus. The educational experience was great, but there is much more to college than listening to lectures, doing homework and taking tests, although those that be experiences in themselves...staying up all night craming for an exam with 5 other friends that look as desparate as you do comes to mind. I suppose in the end the college experience is valuable for not only growth of the mind, but also the heart and soul. Our life experiences are what helps to define who we are and there is no better place to have such an experience than college.

Attending Park University has allowed me to experience independence, self-accountability and self-realization. Being a part of a diverse student body allowed me to find my comfort zone, address my personal dilemmas and ultimately step out completely out of my box and open myself up to people. I learned to appreciate people for their personalities, beliefs, funny habits, cultural backgrounds and most importantly thier convictions. Many of those same elements about myself changed in my college experience as well. The acadamic workload forced me to be accountable, creative and dedicated to the academic process as well as be ready for the endless oppurtunities that would be available to me if i strove for my personal best. Being a part of a school and living on campus gives you a feeling of pride and belonging to something bigger and more important than myself. I've made lifelong friends who have stuck by me good and bad and I have been very blessed to establish a network of incredible individuals in various countries who show support and continually strive for their own successes sharing them with our Park Community along the way.

My college experience has given me many opportunities to grow as a person by providing leadership opportunities. I have always enjoyed being involved, but have hesitated to take on leadership positions. Park has many clubs and organizations that I became involved in. One in particular is the Student Ambassador Program; the president gave me a tour of the campus and was always available if I needed help. She gave me advice about classes and discussed with me the traits of being a good leader. As a result, I am now the President and Vice president of many clubs. This gave me confidence to pursue other positions of leadership and I in return have encouraged others to do the same. The lessons I have learned have translated to other aspects in school. I am no longer afraid of raising my hand, asking for clarification or being team leader. This self-assurance carried into my career because I am poised and focused at Career fairs and with campus recruiters. I believe my college experience has changed my life by instilling confidence and allowing me the opportunity to put the skills I have learned to use.

I am sad to say that I came from a sheltered, semi-racist town. I myself did not partake in any racist behavior or thoughts, but I certainly was not educated about other cultures in my small town of Caucasians. After high school, I came to Park University where I quickly became a minority. It was a complete culture shock to see that many different ethnicities on one campus! I was very uncomfortable at first, however, I quickly made friends with many different people and soon learned a lot about other cultures! Being at Park has seriously opened my eyes to other cultures and has made me a lot more open to other things. Because of Park, I am now wanting to teach Elementary in an inner-city school, whereas before I do not believe I would have ever chosen that route. This school has given me a second chance at opening myself up to the world, and has given me a new path. It has also gotten me excited to learn. I absolutely hated school before coming to college, but now I have great attendance, and thoroughly enjoy learning because I know someday, my knowledge will better another child.

College experiences are necessary, whether they are positive or negative, they help students to grow and mature to further on become the person they were truely meant to be. The College Experience, sadly, isn't an opportunity that is given to every individual, some of these reasons might be financial or it could be simply that students don't know where to look to find finacial assistance. What I've gotten from my college experience, at Park University, is that it shouldnt matter where you get your education as long as you get it. When the recessions really started to impact families and schools, it became also impossible to find banks that would give out reasonable interest rate loans. Because of such events, students that were able to return back to those $24,000 a year schools should be very greatful , because many students would've wished to be in their position. This school has become valuable to me, because I have learned the true importance of attending a University which is knowing the importance of working hard to acheive your goals and then later goofing off if you have the time.

College has helped make me the person I am today. I had good experiences and bad experiences and I wouldn't take any of them back because it has shaped me in a way that not many things could. I have met some of the most wonderful people who continue to be my friends to this day. College was valuable because it helps you learn what you need for the future. You meet people that will help you in the future as well. College is something I think every person should experience in their lifetime.

If I was able to give my senior-in-highschool self advice, I would tell her that college is so important. Take every AP class you can in high school to help you in college. Do everything you can to learn all that you can in high school. This knowledge is great help for you in college. Don't rush on deciding your major. Take the first 2 years to work on you General education classes. By the time you are a junior, you will know what your path should be. You will not waste precious time trying to get into a school program that you thought was worth it. Take your time. Time flies after high school.

The first thing I would say is that this will not be an easy walk through the park. You will need to make time to study and understand the classes. This is not free time. Do not listen to the people that say you need to concentrate on finding a man and getting married. Marriage is not for everyone. Education is. You do not need to be married to make it in the coming world, but you do need to have a good education and the credentials that say you earned that education through hardwork and determination. There are so many opportunities that have not yet been imagined. Work hard to get your degree it will be worth it, I promise.

I graduated from high school 25 years ago in 1985. The advice that I would give myself would be to set and write down short and long term goals for myself. The short-term goals would allow me to stay focused and on track and the long-term goals would provide the much-needed motivation I would need during the tough times. A few of my short-term goals would be to 1)attend orientation 2)meet with a student counselors to map out my academic career 3) meet and study with at least one person from each class and 4)join at least one organization. The long-term goals would include 1) earning a degree 2) building a career 3) economic stability and 4) personal growth and improvement. Making the transition into college life requires the ability to self-monitor. Therefore, time-management skills as well as good study habits are essential to academic success. I would advise myself to invest in and use an agenda to keep track of assignments and other important meetings and activities. And, last but not least, I would advise myself to not procrastinate.