University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Top Questions

So far, my college experience has taught me respondsibility. I have learned to become more independent because I do not have my parents around to assist me at every moment. I am living on my own, making my own money, and experiencing things daily that are different than high school. I have also gained a sense of self because I have had to meet new people and become acclimated with such a large campus. I value my experiences because they have allowed me to obtain skills that I can use later in life.

I looked forward to attending my university because of the numerous research opportunities it offers. But I would have never thought I would get to know my professors as well as I have currently. My College of Applied Health Sciences is relatively small college compared to the other colleges on the university campus but because of this, my professors have been able to provide more attention to their smaller pools of students. As a result, my professors have provided me with valuable opinions on my future plans as well as new research projects related to my interests. They have also provided support while helping me to understand challenging concepts. On the other hand, my university campus is large, which offers me the chance to interact with students from many other colleges and to participate in various extracurricular activities such as student organizations. Because of the balance between my college and my university campus, I believe I have discovered experiences and resources that have prepared me to compete successively in my future career.

I feel that I have gotten a lot out of my college experience so far. I have had the opprotunity to work with and be around people from many different cultures and backgrounds. This has helped me to further understand other people, and to be able to look past the obvious differences and see the actual person. This has also helped me to be able to fully embrace the beauty of other cultures. Attending a bigger university has also allowed me to really grow as a person. Since Illinois is such a large institution, there is no one around to watch your every move. It makes no one any difference if you go to class, do your homework, study, join a club, or decide to go out on a week night. You and you alone are responsible for your actions. As a result of this, I have learned how important it is to take responsibility for my own actions (good and bad). I have learned how to prioritize and manage my time effectively. Most importantly I have realized that I am the one who decides what my future will be.

I have learned many things from my college experience, but I would say that it is not the "book-smarts" that you attain that make college valuable, (although it helps), but rather the experiences you have and the people you meet. It is one thing learning from a book and craming with video lectures untill 2 am. before an exam, but it is really something else to do it with a group of people all sharing the same worries and helping eachother. The true values of college come about during the times of stress and anxiety, the value is in knowing that you can brave through all the work and pressure and come out a changed person for the better.

My college experience is an opportunity to bring together a lifetime of educational and work experience into a new career. I put down my art career in college to address social issues. I'm very excited at this time in my life to come full circle and find a way to make a living in the arts. Fashion design has an enormous impact on our environment and health. I am part of an evolutionary movement seeking to "green" our industries, protect our environment and animals, end unfair labor practices and implement innovative economic structures that redistribute the wealth. My work experience includes fiscal planning, administration and management. I'm a retired Alternative Health Care Practitioner, Bodyworker (specializing in PTSD), Reiki Master and Nutrition/Wellness Lifestyle Coach. I have taught realistic drawing/art therapy to homeless children in transitional shelters as well as a 750-hour therapeutic massage certification courses in San Francisco. I worked in the environmental movement and various social movements throughout my life. After being laid-off as a teacher, at the request of students, clients, and fellow practitioners, I founded Lokahi BodyWorks, Inc., a nonprofit wellness organization.

Being from a quiet suburban neighborhood I feel I have been shielded from what the rest of the world is truly like. But college has been an eye-opening experience for me, and I have been given a freedom that has never existed before. Through this freedom came great responsibility and I have been given an opportunity to develop skills and habits that will allow me to succeed on my own. People from all sorts of backgrounds and passions are brought together on this college campus and I got to see the diversity that the world has to offer. Everyone has different aspirations and I find myself constantly surrounded by peers that are on different paths than my own. And being around these people, I have found myself picking up a thing or two about their subjects of interest. Also, my professors are constantly motivating me and reminding me that my goals are possible and that I should continue to persevere to obtain those goals. Not only have I been able to grow academically, but I have learned essential skills to survive in the real world and I've made a few friends along the way.

The changes in my life have been great, I am a mother of 4 and have a husband who is in the Army and deploying . I will be taking care of every thing here on the home front with out the help of my husband., when it comes to the family as well as going to school. I am taking this challenge on to better myself and families future. Like my husbands sacrifice of leaving his family and fighting for our country over seas I am waging a type of battle of my own here by going back to school while he is gone. I want to prove to myself and show my children you can do anything as long as you put for an effort put your nose to the grindstone and never give up. This is not going to be an easy journey but one will worth it in the end.

the only thing i have gotten out of college so far is basic knowledge. in order to survive in todays job market one needs that peace of paper that says degree just so the HR will look at the resume.

By attending college at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign I have learned to be independent. As soon at I touched down at the University I realized that it would be a lot different than High School. Not only is the enviornment different but the workload is different as well. . Many times people get upset when they see people succeeding but what they do not realize is that they have worked hard to get to where they are. College has also taught me to balanced out my school work and social life. College has also made me realized that education is the key to success and without it success is hard to reach. I have also realized that going to college is not about making money but about loving what you do. By attending college I have met many new friends who have encouraged me to keep going when I felt that I could not go any further and that is why I feel that college has been valuable for me. I have also learned that education is not a given and that you have to work hard to reach success.

Thus far i have gotten the skill of being able to never give up and strive until i reach my goal. The work here at this university is at a high level of learning and in order to keep up with the rest of my classmates i have to work hard and never give up when there is a new task thrown in my direction. It is ver valuable to attened this college for my personal reason because my school has a excellent social work program that i will benefit from whne i graduate.