Spring Arbor University Top Questions

My college experience has been a valuable aspect to my new adult life. After finishing the registration process and figuring out my finances, I gained a sense of what it is like to be an adult. My first few days of school strengthened my sense of adulthood even more. In class, I felt equal to the students who ranged from the ages of 18 through their mid-fourties. I was not bombarded with an overwhelming amount of rules and regulations as I was in high school, and the students appeared as if they actually wanted to be there. Also, I quickly learned how important independence and responsibility is to the life of an adult. My time and grades became my responsibility the day I started college. As for independence, I noticed that the life of an adult is basically just a bunch of little small things I have to remember to do. I have also met loads of interesting people I am hoping to know. From budgeting, responsibility, and meeting new people, my first few weeks of college has been more valuable to my adult life than anything I have experienced before. I can not wait to experience more.

A safe place to learn diversity; different colors and cultures, different thoughts and opinions, different social activities and different lifestyles; yet all in an accepting and encouraging college setting. I have been challenged to step up and become a leader by staff, faculty, and other students. As a result of that challenge I have led ministries working with inner-city children, volunteered at nursing homes, planned campus-wide events, applied for a summer job in a different state, and am now the Student Government Association Director of Spiritual Life - a chance to change the way the campus is involved in serving the community around us through service projects and deeper relationships with God and each other. I have expanded my views on faith and religion and become so much more open-minded towards people who may not be exactly the same as me. I have made life-long friends who love me for who I am while encouraging me to be greater. The professors have been involved in my life and actively pointing me to ways for self-improvement and increasing knowledge. I have found no other place that allows me to grow in such great ways as Spring Arbor.

During my years at the College of Staten Island, I was able to experience a lot. From meeting new people to making close relationships to making connections to just being able to have the college experience. I was very involved on campus, I tried to partcipate as many workshops for personal and professsional development as possible and that's where I learned more about different opportunity. Emerging Leadership Program, one of my involvement during my years in C.S.I. has granted me many skills and knowledge that I would forever have, remember and cherish. Being able to work closely with my leadership coordinator and working with other bright future leaders was an honor. I can say this was my official step towards my professional carreer. After being involved, I learned about myself, learned what I want, learned how to approach it and learned how badly I wanted to succeed. I would say, without this college experience, without C.S.I. campus, without all the people I have met in my life; I would've never been in the position I am today. I am confident and very ambitious to make those experience well worthwhile because it is truly valuable.

Spring Arbor University has taught integrity, dedication, devotion and the concept of community. They provide an understanding atmosphere with the students, and in return, students create an understanding atmosphere of others. College has given opportunites of working with other people to better the community and the surrounding people that will be there in a given workplace. Working with people will be most cases once a student graduates, and college has the dedication and devotion in which is needed to get along with others. Integrity is a major trait college has an influence on. In college, there are so many due dates and obligations, in which makes it easier to create integrity which the student can hold on to throughout life.

Aside from the excellent academic experience and beneficial social connections I have made, the most valuable experience at Spring Arbor has unarguably been visiting the adoption agency I went though as an infant. Spring Arbor requires its students to study abroad, so I went to South Korea where I was born. I had never really worried about my background prior to my trip; however, there was always a part of my life without answers. I had problems with my identity, knowing where I could call home and who I was as a person. Brushing these issues off and going on with life was the best possible solution I could come up with. The more time I spent in Korea, the more I felt a desire to know my past and find answers. Standing in the exact place I was twenty years ago was so surreal. I felt so overwhelmed going through my file with the case worker I talked with. I have truly discovered who I am through all of this, with a sense of closure having been placed on my heart. Realizing my identity as an American has been so encouraging, I can now aspire for success without distraction.

I have learned a lot from my college experience but there are three main things that I would consider the most important. I have learned what it means to truly value my time. First, there are a lot of things going on in college and I have really learned what it means to balance my social life, academic life, and work life. Second, living away from home has also taught me to really cherish my family and friends back home because I do not get to see them as often. Finally, I have a better respect for my own personal belongings and space. Sharing a living space with more than one other person is challenging and I have learned how to take care of my own space and have a great respect for organization and cleanliness. College is very valuable to attend because it teaches you many life lessons that are going to be needed later on in every day life. Without the college experience, I would be lacking in various areas of life.

I have learned a lot about what it's like to think for myself and make my own decisions. I know that many people feel that going to a Christian college does not allow for much freedom of thought or an opportunity to make decisions about your faith, but for me it has been quite the opposite. I have learned more about my own faith, but I have also been given oppotunites for learning about other faiths. This has been valuable to me because it has been time for me to grow as my own person, and not just a product of my church, my family, and the community that I grew up in.

I have gotten a lot out of my college experience and hope to receive even more in these next three plus years. While I was in school I learned not only the theory of my associated degree but also a lot about life and how to live it. I learned that I am perseverant and that I love to help others. I learned that when I set goals I am committed to complete them a complete them with excellence! That being honest is not only bout telling the truth but also about not leaving anything out. During college I learned how to make and maintain healthy friendships that build on one another. I lived many difficult experiences as well during my college experience but I would not change any of them. What I lived and learned and choose to be has made me who I am today and that is more valuable than anything else in the world to me!

From the perspective of a college student at Spring Arbor University, understanding the importance of planning and proper time management has been essential for me to graduate. This is true with my relationships with loved ones, co-workers, friends, and probable new employers. Commitments, flexibility, knowledge, self-motivation, and effective communication is a fundamental blueprint to an accomplished employee, student, or dignitary. Spring Arbor University has taught me that beyond the accolades I've obtained so far, practical time management allows me to enjoy the riches I discover by considering the time I have. I learned also that there is nothing wrong in asking for guidance! I ascertained viable information that was absent from my learning; therefore, I undertook the culture, words, and methodology that my professors and fellow classmates shared with me to pursue a profession with poise and dedication. I discovered a sense of self that by understanding what I shall become, I need to envision what I’m destined to achieve. As I continue with my studies at Spring Arbor University, I’m confident that it will prepare me for experimentation, exploration, and networking with people that will be the apex to my success.

Last year I discovered a lot about who I am now and who I want to become. Not only have I figured out how to manage my time (an expensive lesson when it means failing some classes!), but I now know that I want to get this degree to get the future I know God has planned for me. I'm the only one of four siblings to graduate high school, let alone attend college, and my family does not exactly have the means to support me. Being at Spring Arbor helps me not feel alone in this journey; I have God by my side, and He will get me through this. Learning that I am not alone is probably the move valuable lesson I learned this year. I know that I can make it through the next three years and that getting this degree will mean the difference between a bright future or a dim one!