University of Central Florida Top Questions

I graduated from the University of Central Florida in May of 2008 with my Bachelor?s of Arts degree in Interpersonal and Organizational Communication and in December of 2009 with my Master?s of Arts degree in Mass Communication. While in graduate school, I learned how business and communication meld together hand in hand. I enrolled in a business communication course where I learned about being a manager and analyzing proper patterns in upward and downward communication in a business atmosphere. One of my favorite classes of my graduate career was advertising. I learned about the importance of advertising in how it can influence people cognitively and how affluent it is in everyday life. These classes, along with prior work experience in business, have an integral part in inspiring me to pursue more formal education in business with the International Master?s of Business Administration (IMBA) program at Florida International University (FIU).

At UCF, I learned a plethora of things. For instance, I was taught how to write a proper resume for job applications. I was taught interviewing skills and how to "wow" a potential employer. I was taught how to conduct research, use technology, create a web page, how to write effectively, how to speak properly, and many other valuable skills that are necessary to gain employment after college. I was also taught how to be independent and reason like an adult. College was a great experience for me. If I had not attended college, I would not have acquired the skills, especially the life skills, that I have today. On the other hand, college is very important if you would like to have a great career and be successful in life. Sure, anyone can get a job without going to college; however, a college graduate has an edge over a high school graduate when applying for the same job. In addition, a college graduate earns $2.1 million more over the course of their lifetime than a high school graduate. Thus, it is important to be educated, for it will help you to function better in society.

The most important thing I have gotten out of my college experience is self confidence. I used to be a child with few friends and I had a hard time socializing with people that I didn't know. Going to college has shown me that being open to new people and new experiences can make life more fulfilling. All of the students and faculty that I have met so far has influenced me in so many ways and without going to college, I never would have met them. Everyone should consider to going to any kind of college, big or small, because the people you meet there will influence your life in so many ways and your life will never be the same again.

I am an incomming freshman, therefore I have no college expeience thus far. But I expect an experience of a lifetime. I expect to make friendships that will last a life time, a successful professional career and to always be proud of being a University of Central Florida alumni.

My college experience has given me a better sense of who I am and what I want to do with my life after college. Since I have been in college I have discovered things about myself that I never knew. Discovering these things has lead me into the realization that I am an adult now and what I do with my life is all in my hands. I have learned to fend for myself and not be dependent on my mother which is a skill that clicked immediatly upon my arrival at the University. It has been valuable to attend the University most importantly becasue it has helped me to mature. Along with this I have been filled with many new positive experiences and opprtuinites that I wouldn't have had if I wouldn't have come. My life has made a complete 360 and I am on the right path to reach my ultimate goal: success.

The majority of those who attend college have one goal in mind, a bigger paycheck. I was one of those ladder-climbing, future bigwig breadwinners, getting an engineering degree solely for financial esteem and pure ego. Six months into my major, while working on AutoCAD, I caught the reflection of my computer screen illuminating my former self in high school. There I was, less than a year ago with innocence intact, earnestly trying to restore the bleak society I was a part of. How could I have lost that simplistic purity within a year? I was thrown into a tailspin, lost identity and all. Relentlessly trying to reverse my forgotten morals, I discovered my passion of biology with a professor that took time out of his lunch hour to talk about the biology program that UCF offered. Through him I discovered more about myself than I had learned in the last 20 years of my life, and reclaimed those lost ideals. This single experience has inspired me to pursue a path that will ultimately help humanity coexist with the environment. As well I have gained a realization that college is created for the greater good, rather than the individual.

My college experience has reinforced the importance of civility, morality, diversity and work ethic. With The University of Central Florida's ever increasing population, it was virtually inevitable that I would experience positive and negative experiences comparable to the real world. Many courses made it necessary to collaborate with students to complete coursework. Collaborating on college level assignments in which time, money, and credit hours hung in the balance, at times brought out the best and worst in personalities. A heavy course load cultivated an environment in which awesome work ethic and honesty was paramount or failure was the result. With diverse backgrounds, experiences, and educations my cohorts offered knowledge that I feel helped to make me a well rounded individual. Overall, it rewarded me with a respect for others talents, knowledge, and perspective. The value of attending The University of Central Florida is that I am now a multiple award winning teacher. I have won the Bright House Networks Star Teacher Award three times. College was very competitive in many respects. It presented many obstacles such as financial aid, course availability, and course rigor. Enduring it all to the end, I am victorious, and successful.

As an art student, I'm constantly having to challege my world views. There is no doubt in my mind that without the help of my excellent professors, I wouldn't be able to look as critically as I do, now. This applies not only to a model or still life, but also to social and political issues. In high school I thought there was one right way of living your life. Follow the "right" path and you will be deemed successful. But I didn't know what path I wanted to take, and so I turned to my community college. I really believed only the directionless, less driven, or less intelligent students resorted to community college and I was depressed. I'm now wrapping up my second year and I have not changed more as a person at any other point in my life. I have met the most diverse group of wonderful people, and I know I wouldn't have met them at a regular 4 year university. It has matured me so much. I'm now a passionate artist looking for the necessary aid to attend the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I love college!

I have gotten alot out of my college experience so far. I have met alot of nice people, as well as some people I will most likely stay friends with for life. Also, I have gotten a very good education and have gained knowledge that I will be able to use in the future in my desired area of study. This school is always providing opportunity to meet new people and learn new things academicly as well as non-academicly. But overall University of Central Florida was the school I wanted to attend and I am very glad that I ended up going to this school because of all the amazing opportunitys available, such as intership offers, traveling abroad availability, and vast availability to learn anything desired.

What I have gotten out of my college experience and one of the reasons it has been valuable to attend can be summed up in a single word, networking. I have begun to meet people who have years of experience in my desired field or are on their way of becoming the head of that field. It is not just beneficial to be acquainted with these people, but it is truly motivational as well. Because of networking, I know people who have found a great intern or awesome job. I have gained supported friends needed, not just to survive but soar.

In August 2007 I began a four year journey, my college career. It has now been nearly three years and throughout those years I have learned to challenge myself and push the envelope farther than I ever have before. College has shown me that life is not easy and would not be any fun if it was. There is almost nothing more satisfying than knowing I earned an "A" in a difficult class. By earning my grades, I have learned that I must earn most things in life as well. For most, jobs, raises, and promotions are not handed to them on a silver platter. College teaches that everything must be earned and when it is, the satisfaction is overwhelming. Without college, I never would have attained the drive that is so necessary to make it in this world.

The typical college experience is one that many look forward to. We have all heard about how college is supposed to be some big awesome party before you are thrown into the real world. It isn't that for me. It's about being on my own and being me in a place where I can. I love the fact that in college, most students are doing what they love. Classes are not always "class" because they become something more, they mean something. College has been important for me because in the clich? kind of way it helped me find who I am, really find myself. I have made amazing friends, and met extraordinary people who have all taught me something about myself and about the world. I expected to go to college and get a degree, to become something because my parents never got the chance. But when I got here everything changed, I never expected to learn as much as I have and I'm not talking about school, but about myself and about life. This has been a valuable experience, attending college, because I needed it, I feel like I?m supposed to be here.

The experience that you learn the most in college has nothing to do with the classroom. American history and algebra will make you smarter that's not what I'm saying at all, but the social developement that occurs is really what shapes you into the person that you will be for the rest of your life. I came into college with a boyfriend of four years and he went to University of Florida...two hours away. When he recently broke up with me it felt like my whole life was running away until I looked in the mirror and realized I have so many new friends that love and support me. UCF is one of the most accepting places I have ever been and I love my school more than ever because when I walk the streets here I know that there are new opportunities every day and I have the freedom to figure out who I really am and which of those opportunities is right for me. Now I'm in an A Cappella group, progressing in my elementary education major, and loving my life in college.

Going through the college experience has shown me that I can make it on my own. I came from a very small town with a graduating high school class of 40 students to a university with over 55,000 students. I am on my own and I am making it. I have learned that I thrive in stressful situations and that even when things are looking very grim with no hope that in the end it will be ok. It has also been a great social experience learning about different cultures and backgrounds and beliefs. It has been valuble to attend becuase it has given me a drive and something to focus on where I want my life to go. I did not end up in the same town I grew up in going nowhere as is the trend from where I am from. I have dreams and I know to go for those dreams no matter what comes up along the way.

When I think about what I got out of my college experience and why it is valuable, I ask myself, ?What 'value' have not I got out of my college experience?? Attending college became the greatest character defining point in my life. College is the key that opens personal doorways to develop, educate, and network. College brought forth opportunities to connect with individuals and intellectuals alike. Since I began college there were helpful and willing administrators to serve as guiding lights to illuminate the paths ahead. Throughout the course of my college career I learned to think critically, communicate effectively, and question the world around me. I developed the invaluable ability not only to convey and elaborate ideas, but also to support and defend my thoughts and reasoning when critically analyzed. Some say college doesn't offer much or is valuable; I say, with the many winding roads, open gateways, and extendable support college brings, the only way to get nothing out of the college experience is to do nothing. I am the marble slate; college is the chisel to sculpt and define who I am. A strong, invaluable defined character is what I got out of my college experience.

Without question, I have benefited and grown more socially as opposed to any other aspect of myself throughout my collegiate career. I attribute this growth to attending a university with such diversity. By student population, The University of Central Florida (UCF) is the third largest university in the country. With such an enormous student body UCF creates an environment in which I was surrounded by diversity. I had the opportunity to experience diversity by way of race, religion, ethnicity, culture, background, economic level, and upbringing, with some of these features having never been experienced by myself prior to attending UCF. While I was growing at a significant rate intellectually, I was growing exponentially socially. What I was learning in accounting class did not compare to what I was learning in a multicultural event outside of class. Certainly, it is the people, the students that are the catalyst to my growth and learning. It was their experiences, cultures, and upbringings from which I gained an unbelievable amount of knowledge. We grew together, as some of us became close friends. To recognize an entire world of differences is an amazing experience and is an experience in which I gained from college.

So far my college experience has allowed me to start to really find myself as a person. I've started to reaxamin my life and goals and figure out what is important to me personally. The things that were important to me only a year ago are no longer as important to me. I've grown up more in one year then I probably did in all four years of high school. Being at college and on your own, especially at such a large university, throws you into a world of opportunities to learn what all is out there. College is not only about the classes you attend, which of course are extremely important, but its about learning who you are as a person, and who you're going to be for the rest of your life.

Just the concept, that there are others out there like me. I want to continue on in school with hopes of being a neurosurgeon. I feel at this school there are so many people here that helped me grow and kept me on the right track so I can achieve my goals. Not only have I gotten the motivation I need to succeed, I have also gotten lasting friendships. Since this campus is so diverse, I am allowed to have a variety of friends. From those in my field of study to those who aren?t. Making friends is always a plus because they are there for you emotionally and socially, where as school is there for you emotionally and academically. I am so glad that I came to UCF, I know that I will be a great somebody because of it.

I am a 40 year old single mom of two, and going back to school was sohard for me at first cause I have been out for solong, but now that I am getting the hang of things I know I did the right thing by going back to school. I love it and I am so glad to be going. I know if I get a degree the sky is the limited for me and it will open so many doors for me.

What I have gotten out of a college experience has helped me with my transition into university. I learned that in order to get to where you are in life you have to go out and grab it no one is going to hand it you. While attending Valencia Community College it taught me that there is not going to be someone there to hold your hand and help you. You are on your own and they will help if you need help but that is about the extent of it. I know that at Valencia I was so comfortable with the small classes then to move to classes with more then 100 students can be overwelling. Luckly I had help to transition and I was able to take my knowledge that I learned at Valcencia with me not only to university but everywhere I go.