Seattle Pacific University Top Questions

So far, my college experience has felt like a dream. It feels so wondering and amazing, that I must be dreaming, right? Being in college, I have gotten the chance to grow as a person, gain knowledge that will stick with me forever, and meet the most interesting people. Going to college was the best choice I have ever made. Not only am I making a better future for myself with a career, I am making experiences that will shape me into a better human being. I am only in my second quarter in college, and I already feel brand new. I know for certain that without college, I wouldn’t be anyone.

Seattle Pacfic University has been valuable to attend becuase the programs they offer are condusive to my career plan (Art Therapy). I have really gotten a lot out of my art and psychology classes, and the job that I got through Work Study has been a wonderful experience. SPU is also full of a lot of supporting people, and it seems like the professors really care, so that has been refreshing. I feel as though this school is preparing me to go on to graduate school and eventually start a meaningful career and life.

Before I came to Seattle Pacific University, I was very comfortable in my life at home. I grew up in an area of people who were similar to me socioeconomically, racially, and academically. My mind was stuck in a pattern of fitting people into my own sphere of experiences. When I came to SPU, my mind and eyes were opened. I began meeting people with completely different backgrounds than mine. Students at SPU have diverse upbringings, lives, and experiences that I had not previously encountered. Becoming acquainted with my fellow students and realizing how their backgrounds affected their personality and beliefs made me immeasurably more understanding and tolerant of people who were different than me. When I encountered different people before I came to SPU, I often judged them before getting to know them. But, coming to SPU and meeting all types of people from diverse ways of life helped me realize that I cannot judge a person based on my preconceived notions or before getting to know them. Meeting numerous amounts of diverse people has helped me grow into a more compassionate and accepting person.

Challenging topics, gripping essays, and anxious-filled tests--this has been my gritty academic experience here at Seattle Pacific University. SPU has given me the drive to study hard and retain valuable information harder. With the knowledge and determination that I have attained here, I know that I can go anywhere with what I have learned and use it to help me succeed. In any environment whether it be the hospital or the classroom, the grocery market or the street, I have a firey passion for knowledge that is universal and contageous. SPU has given me the tools and perserverance for success in any stage that life will take me. My experience at SPU has been academically valuable and fulfilling.

I have learned a lot about myself and the kind of woman I would like to become when I grow up. I finally figured out what kind of career I want to have since I was inspired and challenged to look at many different options. I am very happy in my choice, nursing, and very surprised at how well it fits my personality and interests. Aside from academic learning, my college experience has been a place to learn about relationships. I have some wonderful friends who are like sisters to me; they keep me accountable and make everyday exciting. My long-distance relationship with my boyfriend of two years has grown as we both mature and discover who we are separately and what that means for us as a couple. My college experience has been very valuable.

I have gotten many valuable experiences out of college. The one to be the biggest life lesson for me is that not everyone you meet will be a good person and will not always be a good friend. Coming from a small town I never had any friend drama; my friends from high school will be life long friends of mine. So coming to school and not knowing anyone was scary. I met a group of girls who I thought would also be life long friends but I came to realize that they are two faced, backstabbers and just not nice people, like I orginally thought they were. This experience has been so valuable because I am not as trusting anymore. I try to get to know the real person before I fully trust them. I also am more aware of how people can change and be totally different then you orginally thought. I would not trade this experience in for the World!

My college expierence has been rich and full of uncomfortable learning situations. Academically I have pushed to my limits and succeeded taking classes I didnt enjoy and others that I loved have taught me self -disipline like never before. The knowledge that everthing that I learn and the classes I take push me that much closer to earning a degree and being right on the job market as a nurse, excites me. On the other hand living in a dorm with a bunch of college-age girls teaches and stretches my patience and beliefs about people. I have seen mindsets and opinions that I never would have once come in contact with, learning from others just as much as they learn from me. The radical opinions, the technological addictions, paired with the desire to live a life that will make a difference and have a real effect are the drugs of my generation. Putting us all in the same buildings on a college campus good and bad things are bound to happen. Taking this into account, I have learned that people have the potential to do something great and the enviroment of a college facilitates and fosters that something great.

What has college given me? Since the first day of kindergarten I have hated school. College has given me the opportunity to look at education through a different perspective. I can make my own schedule and create my own learning experience. Education is no longer a one size fits all but whatever I want it to be. College has given me a sense of direction. I know the path that I want to be on. This has been a tremendous discovery. I was injured and have permanent damage to my right arm. Up until I was injured I wanted to be a veterinarian. Due to the injury this is no longer possible. For a long time after high school I did not attend college. The frustration was too great. After going back to school I have been able to realize that there is more out there that is related to my passion for animals and health care that I can accomplish.

It is my second year at Seattle Pacific University and I have had a meaningful experience. I do not think my college experience is something I get things out of. I've learned that I cannot expect to get things to come to me if I am not putting any effort or initiative into them. So far, I have learned more about myself in college than in any stage of my life. Along with the independence and freedom in college, I have been exposed to my limitations, weaknesses, and strengths. I've been learning how to express myself through the medium of art, and this is becoming a large part of my identity. There are so many opportunities for positive experiences I would have missed out on if I did not attend college. I have a clearer idea now of what kind of person I want to be, and the imagination of where I can possibly be in the future. Attending college is providing me the education and experience necessary to achieve my goals as an art therapist. It is more importantly developing me to be a well rounded person in different areas of my life.

Before college, someone told me “going to college you will learn more about yourself and how to live, interact, and be a friend to others than you will about the degree you are studying!” I admit I was skeptical, but now in my junior year at Seattle Pacific University I would tend to agree. Don’t get me wrong—the academic part is a large factor, and I definitely do think I am more prepared for my industry than others at different institutions will be, but it truly is an experience that has been about much more, one that I will cherish and carry with me the remainder of my life. Through being a part of the SPU community, I have learned and experienced valuable and irreplaceable things about myself—who I was, who I am now, who I am striving at every day to become in the future. This community daily encourages me to be a better member of society in my interactions with others, in my impact on the globe, and how I can make a difference. I am taking our motto of “engaging the culture, changing the world” to heart because of what I've experienced here.