I started my college career in the fall of 2011 for no reason other than it was something “productive” to do, and after my freshman year was over, I wanted nothing to do with college or ENC. So, in what would have been my sophomore year, I worked full-time as a teller at a local bank.
Dealing with the public for a full year, not making enough money to thrive, and having upper management tell me what my goals were and what my purpose was dissuaded me from a life of being a high school graduate.
In the fall of 2013, I returned to ENC with a passion for excellence and achievement as a business management major. During the next year, I did all of the work that I didn’t put in freshman year, and it paid off; I received Dean’s List recognition both semesters. This whet my appetite for academic excellence and it felt rewarding. At the same time I felt out of place in the Business Department. The people surrounding me were wonderful, but the discipline was discordant with my personality. My third year, junior year, was a charm.
I found my academic place in the Language, Theatre, and Communication Arts Department. With a major in Literatures in English, I was able to pursue writing and reading skills that I found beneficial and enjoyable–I found a home discipline.
Finally, senior year came around, and I was able to excel not just academically, but professionally and socially. Senior year is the year that I have grown the most during my college career: working as an SI leader, writing tutor, and writer for Veritas News, making lasting friendships and connections on campus with friends and faculty, and trying out new areas of academics by performing in the fall musical “Oklahoma!” I have grown to love my experience at ENC.
My advice to present freshmen, or incoming freshmen, is that ENC is a special place. Amazing experiences will happen if you choose to stay. If you don’t feel that you are in the right major, remain undecided, and complete your general education requirements. No matter where you go or what you do, no education is wasted. Keep the light of discovery alive within you, and pass it on to whomever you meet.