Arizona State University-Tempe Top Questions

I would never trade my college experience for anything in the world. I am currently headed into my sophomore year and I am hopeful that I will learn even more than I did in my freshman year. I learned so much in my first year of college about life, living with "random roomate selection" and about myself that I don't think would have been possible otherwise. As an out of state student attending college three states away from my family, it was tough. But I learned how to be more independent, learn more about what I want in my life and I have met some pretty incredible people. Getting involved on campus was the most important thing I could have done. I've met so many people, especially upperclassmen who have given me some pretty great tips for my future. I can't imagine doing anything else with my life, and the opportunities I have gained already are irreplaceable. College classes are tough, but so worth it. I am fully confident in my education and I feel like I am taking a step in the right direction toward an amazing future!

I learned a lot about time management and balancing work, school, and social life.

At the beginning of my college career, I had carried over my highschool mentality. Now after having transfered two times, going on three, and moving two different times to experience professors of all difficulty levels and each one having very different requirements, I have grown far beyond where I was when I began. This past year I had a particular epiphany I know I would have otherwise not had if I had decided to go straight into working. It had finally hit me, why go against the grain? Why not actually try to learn something opposed to just trying to get the grades to get the degree? It had been a long time coming and finally I completely understood what it would take to actually enjoy the college experience on a different level. My goals changed with this realization. They became far more realistic and in depth. I was finally inspired by a particular degree path. College has been far more valuable than I could have ever imagined. To be able to describe these experiences to others that have yet to go through them would be a challenge. Nothing explains it but the experience itself.

My college experience has provided me with opportunities to explore my chosen career field. I am an education major and for the last two years of my undergraduate years I spent the majority of my class time working with elementary and special education students. By doing this I have been able to practice learning techniques, learn how to build rapport with the students, and work on my much needed classroom management skills. After completing these last two years of school, I feel confident that I wll be able to enter the classroom as an effective teacher that can help students to reach their highest potential. Arizona State University has done an excellent job in getting students into their chosen field and providing them with the experience necessary to put themselves ahead of other graduates in the area.

Coming to ASU, I have grown up so much because of the fact that I am far away from home. I have also met so many great friends that I know I will keep in touch with in the future. I love all my classes even though they are extremely difficult. The staff at ASU are all very helpful and I have learned so much from them already even though I am still currently in my first year. There are also so many events going on whether it be sport related, concerts, or clubs. ASU is the one of the best decisions I have made in my life because not only am I getting a top education, but I can honestly say that I am having the time of my life here. The only thing that is hurting me is their out of state tuition.

My college experience most definitely has revolved around competitive forensics (speech and debate). Participation in this activity - both as coach and competitor - has been a quantum leap for my thought development in terms of creativity, research, and arrangement/composition. Further, through this activity and others, I have had a chance to see the world. While in school, I've traveled to thirty of the fifty states in the Union as well as multiple nations in Europe. College afforded me the opportunity to meet people I never would have come across in my hometown of Mesa, AZ. My college years have been invaluable for the growth of my confidence, planning, and world outlook. Year after year, employees look for individuals who can develop an idea or opinion and then express it clearly and validly. My exposure to various people and places, combined with an activity that demands the competitive development of ideas, helps make that exression possible for me. Even having no idea what I wanted to study or which career I was working toward, college was most certainly the best move I've ever made.

So far, out of my college experience, I have gained new knowledge that I know that I can apply to my life now as well as in my future. I have learned to be a more outspoken person, able to contribute my ideas to a class and know that it will be accepted no matter what it may be. Also, I have learned to be more independent. I have always been independent when it comes to school, but living on my own freshman year, I learned to be independent in the real world. I learned to do my best in everything that I do. College has been very valuable to mebecuase I feel that I have found myself along the way. I know that I have a few more years to go but that excites me knowing I have so much more to learn about myself and my life ahead. I have discovered my goals in life and have planned out the road to success. This means putting aside things that are considered part of the college life. Maybe instead of going out Saturday nights I will stay in to do extra work to stay focused.

I've made a lot of friends and gotten an education that I know is preparing me for future careers.

The most valuable thing that I have gotten out of my college career is mainly just the experience of being here. I have been exposed to so many new cultures, people, and ideas than ever before in my life. I have been able to learn so much about myself and how I function just from being here in this environment on this huge campus. I am from a small town so I was contained in my little sheltered bubble for the first 18 years of my life, and coming to ASU has helped me to expand my views and get out of my box. When I started college here, I sometimes wished that I had chosen to attend a smaller campus before coming to ASU, but my views quickly changed and I am proud that I came straight to thins university out of high school. It has opened my eyes to the world so much more than community colleges would have. I would not be the confident, proud, inspired human being that I am today if I did not decide to attend Arizona State University. It truly has changed my outlook on life, for the better.

I attended Jackson Community College, Jackson, MI. , from May 2006 until Graduation in May 2008. Within that 2-year period of time I managed to achieve a 3.818 GPA, on both of my Associate of Applied Science Degrees. Never before have I tried to do so well academically, before attending college, I would settle for average results academically. I previously worked as a machinist for an automotive manufacturing company in Michigan, from May 1989 until December 2005. The company lost most of its bids on the products it produced to foreign competitors, then I was permanently laid-off. I was given the option to attend an undergraduate college, under the North American Free Trade Act (N.A.F.T.A.), because my job was sent to Mexico. I have been awakened by this change in my life that seemed to be out of my control. Since I attended an undergraduate college I have undertaken a new outlook on life, "Employment comes and it goes, but an education will follow you wherever you go and is life-long." Thank you, Jeff Campbell