SUNY Oneonta Top Questions

College is a society within society. It is where I've truly learned what it means to grow up. The personal strife, victory, and creative reassessment that has occured in both my mind and personality, far outweigh any flaws I could find with the school I attend. If there is only one thing that I must choose to be thankful for, then it is for learning how to truly think - and that is something that cannot be taught in a classroom alone. It is a skill that has required both success and hardship, and has begun a process of reinventing the way I view myself and the world around me, which will hopefully guide me into my ambitions of career and personal achievement in the years to come. As an artist, I strive for genuineness of heart and mind, and I place myself in the company of peers who have simple virtues: knowledge of love, a desire to communicate, and happiness in themselves. College has taught me this.

The State University of New York College at Oneonta has given me the tools to realize my full potential as an educator. The teachings at Oneonta that I received have inspired me to accomplish tremendous feats. In January of 2008 I started two and a half years of service in the United States Peace Corps. As a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala I honed my teaching skills working with an indigenous Mayan population while learning Spanish and Mayan Q'eqchi'. It was only because of the education I received from the top notch teaching professionals at SUNY Oneonta that I was able to tackle my Peace Corps experience head-on. Oneonta's Secondary Education Department is rife with experience in cutting edge pedagogy and current educational psychology practices. After finishing my degree in four years I was confident that I could continue to pursue any goals I wanted in my educational career because SUNY Oneonta had prepared me to be a confident and professional life long-learner.

I was not expecting to learn a lot when I went back to school. I was wrong. I have been working in my field (early childhood) for almost six years now and thought I knew everything I needed to know. I have learned a lot from the instructors, but probably the most from my fellow students. Almost everyone in my program has a lot of experience working with kids and it is great to sit and problem solve with them and get ideas for things I can do better in my classroom. I have also picked up some great information from instructors. I have some great new ideas for classroom organization, activities to do with my kids and different ways to put portfolios together to name just a few. I might have learned these things on my own or through the inservice hours I am required to attend, but being together with other early childhood professionals has truly brought a wealth of information to my fingertips and given me a hunger to keep learning and to find new and better ways to facilitate learning in my room.

SUNY Oneonta has provided me the opportunity to discover who I am and what I want to do as my future career. Through attending SUNY Oneonta, professors have helped me explore my interest in becoming a science teacher. I feel competent in myself to know that I will provide my future students to opportunity to develop their own interests. If I had not attended Oneonta, I would not have developed the relationships I have today or given the chance to discover my passion for working with children.

My college experience has given me information to better establish what I want to do after graduation. My main interest is in music but I have learned that a complement in business will be valuable in this field. I have met and learned from other students with similar interests that there are many ways to work in the music business while maintain the exposure to the music itself. I realize that being diversified is a nescessary trait to succed in this business as it is changing all the time. I have been told that college will provide the basis knowledge building blocks but that experience is where the real learing takes place.

While atteding SUNY Oneonta, I have met the most incredible, life changing people. Not only have I made friends that will be friends for life, I have also met professors that have changed my life. If I had not come to SUNY Oneonta, I wouldn't be the person I am today. It has been an all around life changing experience and I have grown into the person I aspired to be one day. My journey as a person will not end at Oneonta but it certainly has begun here. While attending school here, I learned how to be persistant and keep my goals in sight. I also got to learn a lot about various types of people. Yes, attending college is expensive but there is not a price you could put on the people I have met and the experience I have made. Going away to a four year school was life changing and I woulnd't have it any other way.

I'm the youngest of four boys and the only one set on gaining a college degree. My reason for attending college was to escape my past of being placed into foster care, and to make a better life for myself. College has giving me something that I thought I would never have, the exprience to control my life, and to make my own decision and not be control like a puppet. I value that I get the chance be more responisble, and independent. entering a room to live with someone that i have never met and manage a rapport with them. To me college is not just a place for me to learn, but a place to grow as a people.

In 2009/2010 I attended a two year College, Georgia Perimeter College, and since going there its opened my eyes to many things. The Clarkston Campus Challenged me to want more out of my educational experience. Unlike high school, my teacher did not hold my hand and guide me through each assignment, but instead taught me initiative. If I was having trouble with any assignment I would set up appointments to see my teacher during office hours or sometimes they were nice enough to meet me in the cafe and grab a bite to eat (something completely different from high school). Although, it was a two year college it prepared me for when it was time for me to transfer to the four year private school im attending now. In all honesty, My College Experience, thus far has been one I will never forget. Its given me hope, dispair, joy, sadness, and a bit of grey-hair all in a total of two years!

My college experience has been extremely beneficial and the value of attending for a number of reasons. Primarily, it has taught me a great deal about dedication to both my future, as well as current studies. This dedication helped me to achieve a GPA of 4.0 in my first semester. Another benefit I have found by returning to college after marriage and starting a family is that I have learned to manage my time, and stress appropriately. One of the final assets attending college has been learning crucial critical thinking skills, that will benefit me in my future career as a licensed clinical psychologist.

College was a way for me to start over and become a new person. My home life wasn't that great and my town was like death. The attitude it gave off was snobbiness and it was like drowning in a sea of stuffiness and i was ready to get out. The attitude at Oneonta was a refreshing change for me. The people are so different and real well at least most of them. But its a time to explore, experiment and develop with who were are and going to be. With my first semestor i meet so many new people with most thaty liked the real me and wanted to get the real me and not the one that was portrayed. The walls came tumblin down and the love seeped through. It was a wonderful new experience that i would love to be able to experince it some more.

I have loved every minute of my college experience! For me college has been all about learning, but not just in the classroom. I have found that when I am on campus I am learning all the time! By becoming friends with international students or even students from different states, I have been able to learn about new cultures and gain a greater understanding about other people. It is like traveling all around the world without having to leave campus (though I hope to study abroad someday soon)! This new environment also brings new responsibilities. It is important to figure out what they are and learn how to balance them successfully. It can be stressful, but very rewarding. Most importantly, college has allowed me to learn a lot about myself! By facing new challenges, I learned what I can do and in some cases, what I can’t do, both of which I am very grateful for. That is the most important thing college could have given me and will continue to give me. College is an open road, full of opportunities, to self discovery!

I have learned so much from attending Oneonta State, and I don't mean from all those textbooks (although they were helpful.) Since living away from home I have realized how important attitude is in everything we do. We chose how the events in our daily lives affect us. My laptop got a virus mid-semester, right when I had a research paper due. Instead of getting upset and focusing on how irritating it would be to not have a computer for schoolwork I made the best out of the situation and rearranged my schedule. I started going to the computer lab everyday between classes and didn't stress the possibility of my computer not being able to be fixed. I kept an optimistic outlook, which helped me get through the semester and earn a 4.0 GPA. If I had a pessimistic attitude I wouldn't have been as successful and everything would be different. Attitude is everything.

As a 35 year old woman, I have grown to understand the importance of having a degree. I have worked in the hospitality field, hotels, for the majority of my adult life. I know that college is where I need to be to go forward. Showing an employer that you are serious enough about a career to get a degree is something that is important to do in these harder economic times. The amount of potential employees going after the same job is nearly over whelming, you have to stand out to an employer. I feel that with my experience and my soon to be degree, I can be the one that stands out to them. It is an exciting prospect to go back to school for me. I have the advantage of experience and wisdom to understand the real world applications of what I am about to learn in the academic world. The scholarship that you are offering me would help me to go back to school full time and better myself. I would be able to focus on my studies, and not intensely on the financial woes that comes with undertaking school and making a living.

Three important key areas of my life has grown exponentially over the course of my college experience at SUNY Oneonta: Education, friends, and character. In my opinion, these are three areas that should grow throughout anyone's college career. Sure, everyone wants to make sure they land a high paying job after college. But with the current state of the economy, this has been a tougher dream to realize. So it is important to realize that what you learn, the people you meet, and the character that you build is what makes the college experience still very important for your future. This is the value I have gained from attending SUNY Oneonta.

I have gradually learned the importance of studying and being responsible. Once I found something I did not mind putting the extra effort into, I was able to being taking school more seriously. Finally, it has been a relief knowing that all of the classroom learning and studying is paying off through internships.

As a junior, I have grown so much from the minute I stepped on campus. I started off as a female athlete and now am one of the most dedicated fashion majors on campus. I'm active in the Student Fashion Society, Markteing Club, in which I hold national membership to the AMA and I volunteer when I have free time. Other than my education, the most important thing I learned is that everyone is different and that's okay. I've learned to open up to new ideas and ways that people live their own lives. I've learned alot about myself as well. Regardless of where I end up, I just want to be happy, and I learned that by attending a state school where not everyone carries a designer bag or has a new car, but they still manage to keep a smile on their face. That's what should be most important.

Being in college has changed my whole perspective on life. You learn how to take constructive criticism, deal with racial diversity and adapting to an area that is different from what you are accustomed too. I have learned to act like an adult and learn how to make decisions for myself, I have realized that college is where you come to learn to grow up. I value each experience I have encountered because with each lesson I can empower and teach myself and others to live better lives. I learned how to think about my decision before making them and learning from my mistakes. College is the most valuable experience I believe any student will ever encounter, the experience is once in a lifetime.

If I could back in time and speak to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself that everything was going to work out and be okay. As a senior, I was so worried and overwhelmed with preparing myself for college and making friends. I would advise myself that the best thing to be, is myself and that I would meet some amazing people who would love and accept me for who I am and who would change my life forever. I would also warn myself of the things in college to look out for, including the people you shouldn?t trust, as I was once very na?ve and trusting. Also I would tell myself to spend my summer days with my family, as I miss them every single day I am away from them and how yes, mom still cries when she drives me back from breaks. Lastly, I would tell myself to buy my textbooks online for my first semester; the bookstore is way too expensive.

I would go back in time and tell myself to do extremely well in my classes because many classes can help you in college. I would also tell myself how important it is to research clubs and organizations I was interested in so that I would be able to make friends and get involved in my school. College is a fun and great experience as long as you get the most out of it. Get involved in sports, clubs, and other organizations are one of the best ways to meet friends, have fun and learn. Sometimes the most important lessons you will learn are outside of the classroom, and to me that is a big part of what college was. By telling myself this last year I would have a head start on what to expect before I got to school and prepare myself on how to have a great first year at school.

I came toward the end of my senior year in High school very narrowed in my focus when it came to colleges. I only considers two colleges that were close enough to my home so I could commute and that would still give me the things I needed to get into Cornell Vet School. I should have listened to the nagging little voice that said "What will you do if you don't get into Cornell?" I haven't reached that far in my college career to know whether I got into Cornell or not. However if I don't get into Cornell, I will have a Bachelors degree in Biology. What will I do with that? If I could go back and tell my self something it would be to look at vet tech schools like Delhi and suck it up and live in a dorm. I could have a job I would like, learning things I find interesting, and could therefore pay for the student loans it would require me to stay on campus instead of learning things I find very boring and not being able to anything with this degree that I would love doing.