The University of Montana Top Questions

Everyone thinks that you are going to college to learn in the classrooom, but I have found that outside of the classroom is where I have been taught the most. As an Advocate for the University of Montana I have been able to learn from every one that has come my way, and teach the incoming freshman about what my experience is like here on campus. Being able to say that I helped an incoming student transition a little better from high school to college has been something that has made an inpact on me.

I feel college has given me several different types of resources in order to navigate life and realize my potential. Academically school provides great challenges on a day to day basis that keeps my brain energized and functioning. I am in a constant process of deduction, research, and problem-solving that makes me an overall better decision-maker in life. Intellectually it presents new ideas that cause me to reflect inward and ponder who I really am and where I fit in the greater scheme of community, local and global, and where I can use my talents to contribute to making my community and the world a better place to be. Socially, college is one of the best environments to discover your individuality and your talents and to cultivate and nurture them. I have been exposed to many different types of people and have learned tolerance and acceptance for many types of lifestyles and belief systems that I may not have otherwise been exposed to in my hometown community. I would not be who I am without my experience in college, and I think I am a wonderful, fascinating person that has much to give back to the world.

Attending the University of Montana has been invaluable to me, personally and professionally. I graduated with two degrees, and due to a school-based work-study program, I was able to get a full-time job in the field I was pursuing. My professors wanted their students to learn, and they helped me find the topics I was interested in. My college experience not only afforded me education, but I also grew personally. The attitude at this university specifically promotes people to be open-minded and accepting of all people, ethnicities, religions, and personalities. This helped me become a more tolerant and understanding person, an attitude that leads to a more successful life. I learned a lot while attending the University of Montana, and this has led me to return to the school in pursuit of a graduate degree. I enjoyed my experience and felt that the education was valuable. I want to obtain more knowledge, and I would not have the drive I have and professional goals if I had not attended college. College is important for not only learning, but also for maturing into a goal-oriented adult.

This is my first year of college, and I finished up my first semester with a mix of relief and anxiety for the future. The relief came from witnessing that college is completely different than high school, which I am thankful for. For 12 years in the public system, I had always felt caged. During the last half of my senior year of high school, I finished online and was more isolated than I had ever imagined I would be. But college brought freedom. It felt so great to sit in a class for an hour or so, and then be able to walk around outside or sit with my friends while I waited for another class to begin. I could be home by 2 and relax or go to work not feeling exhausted. Now that I have transferred to a university though, I am anxious about the debt and student loans. Nothing terrifies me more than to be drowning in a sea of debt by the time I am ready to graduate. I am doing this on my own without help from my parents. But it has made me stronger because of it.

My past and first semester of college has been very eventful for me. One, I played football for a first year program. We had a lot of ups and downs, and it taught me to persevere through tough times because things will only get better in the future. I've also created friendships that was very valuable to me, being that I attended a college over a 1000 miles away from home. These friends helped me settle down, and I'm more comfortable then I was when I first got to school. Even the faculty members are down to earth. I feel a sense of security with my Professors because it's a completely different setting than High School. So far my experiences have been nothing but helpful and I look forward to continue these experiences next semester and my remaining 31/2 years.

Attending college has been wonderful as far as growing up and finding out who I am goes. It is a time where you can decide what your priorities really are and what you are really willing to get out of life. So far, I have grown tremendously in college. I have felt what it is like to have my heart broken, yet still managed to find my soulmate. I have gained a new determination in my athletics after recieving back surgury a few months ago thanks to amazing teammates and coaches. I have valued every stupid decision I have made because I have learned from each and every one of them. College has given me so many problem solving skills that I would never get anywhere else. I know that my career is going to be amazing based on how hard I have learned to work.

For the first eighteen years of my life, the word change was hardly a part of my vocabulary. When it was time to embark on a new chapter in my life, to say I was terrified is an understatement. Not only was I moving to a new city and attending a new school, I would have to develop a new routine and try new things. The butterflies engulfed my stomach the whole first day, but I lived through it. Attending college has shown me that trying new things keeps life interesting, as well as develops my academic, leadership, and social skills. I have had so many experiences since that first day, school related and not, that I am so estatic I did not miss out on because of my fear of change and new things. My most recent big leap of faith came this past semester when I applied for a position where I would have to teach my own group of students, and got it! I still get the occasional butterflies before the first time of trying something, but the fact that I have the courage to do it despite the butterflies is the best feeling in the world.

Since attending college, I have developed my own opinions and have learned who I am as an individual. I have had many learning experiences that I would have never had anywhere else. The diverse knowledge of all the teachers in the Fine Arts department have helped me pick and choose what I like most. Deciding to go to college has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. Most of all, I feel confident that, I will be able to use my degree to make a living in what I love to do.

I have been able to learn how to become a serious scientist and researcher. I have also been given the opportunity to transcend the socio-economic level by earning my Bachelors degree and working toward my Master's degree. College has been a vehicle to change my familiies cycle of generational drug abuse. I am a first generation college graduate.

What have I gotten out of my college experience? Well, I'm not sure for I am still attending. One thing I do know for sure is that I have absolutely no idea of what I wish to study or become in the future. I do believe that if I continue with my college experience, I am bound to find and perhaps spark an interest in a potential future career. I am a wandering soul to the core but have yet to be lost. Perhaps, I will get lost in the immense amount of education and knowledge my college has to offer me.