Saint Cloud State University Top Questions

When I started college, I was pretty clueless about how the world worked and what I wanted from life. I was a dreamer, an artsy naive girl who lived in her head. While today I am still a dreamer in many ways, my college experience has taught me how to bring the world in my mind into the world, via writing, art and political engagement. Because of my involvement in campus groups, I am now educated philosophically and many people's go-to girl on what is going on in the world. I have a job lined up after college because of the education and life experience that college has brought me, and not only will I have a position in a small business but also will be working with a non-profit to change the world. If it weren't for my college experience I wouldn't be where I am now, and I am so excited to move forward into the future!

I have not been here long so far, but i find that many of the staff and the people that go here are open to any questions and they are very welcoming. The teachers are very knowlagable and they really do care about your educational experience. I feel that I am learning here instead of just trying to get through the material to get a passing grade. I feel that if i were to , for example take an online course, I would not get the same educational experience that I do here.

I have gained a lot of life experiences out of my college experience. I have started learning the true meaning of responsibility. I have started learning the importance of deadlines and the importance of networking. I have also started learning that it is important to stop and ask for help. I worked as a resident advsior for the freshman community at my school, and a double major, this hectic schedule taught me the importance of time management. All of these little skills add up to making a successful life. And so throughout my college years, and as I continue my eduation I continue to take in the life experiences and life lessons that come my way.

What I have gotten most out of my college experience is learning the cultural diversity within the community. I experienced different cultures and customs through international friendships. I am proud of my friends from Korea, Japan, France, Germany, Vietnam, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Ethiopia, Burundi, Togo, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, India, and many more! I am sure I will not be able to make such friendships and intercultural relations without attending college, which made it most valuable of my college years. I believe college is the best place to develop one's cultural identity. As I venture into my junior year in the University, I have developed a sense of self - knowing who I am culturally. This can only be done perfectly by observing people around me and exchanging intellectual ideas on cultural differences and challenges. Through co-curricular activities that emphasizes on ethnic diversity, I worked with people from different places and origin, thus equipping myself with better interpersonal communication skills. Patience and tolerance are two big values I learn from these processes. Cultures can only realize their further richness by honoring other traditions. And only by respecting natural life can humanity continue to exist.

Attending college has given me the opportunity to meet a wide array of people that I would probably not have met outside of school. I've met individuals who share my beliefs and opinions and I've met others who have whose opinions stand in sharp contrast with mine. Most professors have encouraged active and vocal engagement in the curriculum, especially on controversial topics. I feel that while I am in an environment with many like minded individuals, I am also learning a lot about contrasting viewpoints and opinions. The drama that this creates within the academic environment is dear to me. If our world leaders could sit down in these rooms and discuss matters in this way, I have to assume that the ramifications would be profoundly beneficial. College has been valuable for me to attend because it has been providing a blueprint for a higher standard of communication for society at large.

For me the most valuable reason to attend is for a better future for my children. I lost my job when my employer closed down this past spring, I previously attended college and I am returning now to finish my degree. Attaining my degree will not only help me find a new job but with my previous experience will allow me to have more options and higher salary. What I am getting out of my college experience is a secure financial future for my family. My wife and I have four children with number five on the way and when I lost my job we went from a two income family to one, it was a hardship but at the same time we have saved money with my being our daycare and it has given my the opportunity to return to school and finish my degree. That is why St. Cloud State University is an ideal college for me, it's distance learning classes allows me to watch the kids and attend class. My experience with St. Cloud State is giving me the education I need and the valuable options I desire.

I have recived life long communication skills that will help me better communicate and interact with other people.

I have not gotten anything out of college as I have not yet attended. What I can tell is how valuable I will be believe it is going to be to me and my future. I believe that it is valuable to attend college because it can provide many open doors, as far as job availability and success in anyone's future. For me it will mean no longer having to work minimum wage jobs and barely scraping the bottom, but actually being successful. This would mean the possibility of being able to own my own house, car, and not having to worry about what my parents and family members did when I was growing up. All in all, as anyone would want is to be a success to the future of their own family as well as having elder members proud of them. I think also that at the end of the day feeling that you as a person having pride in your accomplishments.

Since I have been in college, I have learned a lot about the type of person I am and who I want to be. Along with learning about who I am, I have gained knowledge that will last me a life time. These things are valuable to me because they will help me be an amazing teacher. My goal is to share all my knowledge I have with my students and through the process hopefully help them discover who they are and what they want to be.

College has provided me the oppurtunity to change my families socio-economical status, while fullfilling many personal goals. I was able to travel to Africa and Europe and those trips opened my view of the rest of the world up and has enriched my life. I have also had an oppurtunity to help many high school students explore and persue higher education which is very fullfilling. I have also been blessed enough to be looked upon as a role model and inspiration in my community and in my very own family. These are a few reason I enjoy my college experience and look foward to growing and becoming a better student and a productive member of society.

Growing up in a small Midwestern town the general feeling is that of security and familiarity. Coming to a larger and more crowed city and a school larger than my home town was quite a stretch for me. It opened up the ideas and perspectives of those around the world in a very real way to me. Everything was not just as I had always known it to be and neither were the ideas and opinions of those around me. The knowledge that is gained through academics is good. But for me the awareness of different points of view is what I have benefited from most. Not that my own point of view has changed on issues and subjects, my point of view and opinions are what make me who I am. But my views have been broadened to be able to look at an issue from a different point of view and understand the motivations that cause different peoples decisions that I may not have agreed with or even tolerated before.

I have had the opportunity to find out who I am throughout the last three years of my life in college. I feel in high school it's more about fitting in, whereas in college, I am able to still create life long friendships, but also be completely career- and goal-oriented as well. I feel that I have learned lessons about education, budgets, and goal setting that every moment at SCSU has been valuable because I learn something new everyday.

Through my college experience I have not only been able to further discovery who I am as a person but what I want in life. I have been able to grow up quickly while learning many lessons along the way. I would love to continue enjoy learning and meeting a variety of different people while getting an education. My college prides itself on diversity of people through their ethnicities, religions, cultures, and much more. I have been provided with so many opportunities to become intellectually and culturally more rounded both on campus and all over the world, I couldn't ask for a better experience.

So far what I have gotten out of college is also what has been valuable; such as half my associate degree, new friends, job leads, new knowledge, a greater thirst for more knowledge, increased self confidence, and an overall joy to be alive. I have discovered that the knowledge I am gaining is changing me like a watered seed. I understand myself, people, and the world better because of my educational experience and I am excited for more. I am not excited however about the ageism I might encounter but I feel confident that I will be able to sell myself to those who will recognize my lifes experience, coupled with modern scholastic endeavour, makes me a valuable team member. I can see that this journey is only going to get better and I look forward to it. I do see one possible obstacle and that is finances for my continued education. I have learned that I need to be proactive and thats why you are even reading these words. Any money I receive will be money well spent. You see money is like water for this seed called me, dont let me die I might manifest a future garden.

Thus far, I have experienced freedom and success from my college experience. It sure is an adjustment not going to the high school one becomes familar with after several years, but going to college has so many advantages one will use for the rest of his or her life. Time management, building relationships with roommates and peers, respect for classmates and professors, and responsibility to take care of oneself are all skills that will be acquired in college. All aforementioned skills are so valuable because they are skills that will be taken and used in my personal life and when I enter the workforce. It is so rewarding when one receives good grades, a compliment from a professor, or when one creates a new bond with someone from a class or dorm, because these will all be things that are memorable, valuable, and that will be carried to one's professional, adult life.

Since I started attending college, I have had a lot of knowledge on what it takes to be educated for example, my English composition class has had a great influence on my speech articulation as a foreigner, and math as well as economy classes has helped me a lot to understand not only calculations or applications of problem solving or economic recession but it has also made me to understand taxes in a better way. My social life has changed in the sense that, I have more confidence in my social interaction with students and faculty. If there is one thing college has offered me is knowledge of life in general; it helped my thinking process and has boost my confidence in applying concepts. As a foreigner, I believe in the American dream, college is a big part of it. My dream is to be a medical doctor, contributing to my community and making a big impact in my family as I become the first doctor in all of my generation as I look forward to that nothing gives me more encouragement and hope than college. It’s a lot of benefit and values like preparing you towards your dreams.

helping others and working in groups is very helpful.

I feel like my college experience has made me a more well-rounded individual and each experience helps me develop myself more as an individual. I've learned a lot about the world rather than from my homogenous background at my high school, and I'm learning what really interests me, makes me unique and ultimately what I want to do in life.

My college experience and education has always been valuable to me. As a first generation American, and a women, I feel very fortunate to be able to pursue my dreams and attend college. My parents grew up in poverty and immigrated to this country as a result of a civil war. They've never had the opportunity to go to school or partake in the opportunities that I've been given. My college experience has helped shaped me to become a better person and has given me the opportunity to pursue my dreams, something I wouldn't be able to do if I grew up in my parents native country. I value education greatly, that's why it's my dream to someday become a teacher for students in special education. I want to help students who are often forgotten, overlooked, and are struggling in life. My experiences throughout my college education has given me the knowledge and courage to do what I love to do most--work with children and youths in special education.

My college experience has been great because it changed my life in many ways. It was my first time being away from home, so it was hard adjusting to a new environment being five hours away from home. It was also hard because I am a Mexican-American and went to a school where most students were caucasian students so it took me time to get use to different cultures. All these changes were positive and made me a stronger person because I became independent being away from home, and it made me open-minded to learn new cultures and get the best out of it. Lastly, college is a place where students can learn and open up to new things that will make them a more rounded person.