Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Top Questions

The most important thing I have gotten out of my college experience so far, has been the ability to realize that I can create my own standards of performance and that I can achieve anything that I focus on. I believe that it has been valuable to attend college because it gives us, students, the opportunity to have a clearer picture of what it is that fullfills us the most. It is up to us though, to take it as far as we can. We are capable of accomplishing more than we think and college is one of the first steps to understand not only that we can be great but it inspires us to be the best we can be.

Attending college has been a liberating experience for me. My professors engaged me in thinking outside of the box; pontificating different ideals and ideas. I would highly recommend pursuing an advanced degree to anyone.

Unfortunately, my current bachelor's degree is not relevant to my area of work. I have worked for only 2 banking institutions in the last 12 years and know I am ready to take the next step and earn an MBA at the best school I can get into. I suppose to directly answer the question, what I really got out of my college experience was the fact that I am loyal and determined to finish something I have started, even though I was confused/undecided with respect to my direction in life. Attending a challenging school, such as Loyola University of Chicago's part-time MBA program would be my ultimate goal and I would be determined to perfom at my best.

Throughout my undergraduate experience, I discovered the core principles of social work across practice levels. Values such as empathy, empowerment, and social justice have increased my awareness and acceptance of the professional and personal responsibility associated with this discipline. My goal to gain more experience working with young adults in urban settings who experience chronic poverty, minimal education, and high unemployment has becomes more and more practical as my journey in social work continues. Additionally, majoring in social work has afforded me several opportunities to gain practical experience. These opportunities include volunteer work through my university and working with at-risk youth in rural settings. The experiences and instruction that I have received as an undergraduate have helped me sustain my career goal. I have learned the importance of evaluating your practice in this discipline. The development of my critical thinking and understanding of the research process has helped me realize that I have chosen the right path. With continued commitment to learning and professional development I know that I will discover my role as a professional. I would not change anything about this experience, and I anticipate what the future will reveal.

Being only a freshmen at SIUC, I've only had 4 classes. But so far the best thing I've gotten out of my college experience is making new friends and getting a great first semester. My teachers have been very attentive to my questions and have been extremely helpful in making sure I really understand what they're teaching.

I have really grown as a student, I find myself using things that I had learned in the classroom in everyday life all the time and I love when I can use something that I have learned to my life. Also, I have become much more social and more cultured by being around a different group of friends that are nothing like my friends back home. I feel Carbondale could be considered a cultural melting pot because of how many different kinds of people that are in this area and the wide variety of culture people bring here.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a senior in high school I would tell myself to try harder. Not only in my classes in my senior year but also in the transition between high school and college. The most important advice I would tell myself is to not procrastonate. Procrastination is probably the biggest obsticle that I faced. I could alwasy do something tomorrow. I would tell myself to apply for more scholarships and financial support to help pay for school. In the financial aspect I would tell myself to simply try. By simply trying I could have had more opportunities to help my parents to not have to pay for college as much. I would also tell myself to take more classes in my community college experience to save more money. With this advice I believe I could save myself money and also improve my resposibilty level. This is the advice I would give myself to improve my experience today.

If I were given the opportunity to go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would say, "Don't sweat the small stuff." All through high school I tended to put too much pressure on myself to impress my parents, friends, and teachers. I've learned in college that I can only do my best, and the only person's opinion that I really need to worry about is my own. I have done very well with grades, making friends, and having a job. If I could have relaxed more in high school, then the transition to college would have been a lot easier. However, I did make the transition, and I am doing exceedingly well, so I think my high school-self would appreciate hearing that.

There's a multitude of events that have occurred in my life since I found myself in high school, nearly eight years ago. Many of these events were life changing. Near the end of high school, I found myself becoming restless. I was bored with school and was anxious to finally get out. When I did, I thought that I would be done with school forever, as I had no intention of going to college. Over time though, I found myself rushing through life, making decisions that had the possibility of detrimenting my future. If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a fresh, young, seventeen year old, I would tell myself to not be so wrapped up in the present that I forget to look into the future, as many things you that you do now can affect you for the rest of your life and if you're not careful, difficulties can arise. I would also make the point to slow down and take the time to learn about new things. There are so many things in this world to be curious and passion about if you only take the time to notice them.

Dear Me, as a high school senior, Regardless of what you think you want to do as a career, begin by taking general education classes instead of jumping straight into major requirements. To determine your purpose in life as a working individual, please conduct personal research and job shadow professionals in careers in which you think you are interested. While I realize you may believe that to be a waste of your time, I promise you that a couple years down the road, should you choose to change your mind about your future career choice, the money you spent attending classes will not have been wasted. Taking your general education classes first will allow you to meet a wider variety of people. I'm sure you already know what kind of people you think you'll like, but do us both a favor and step out of your comfort zone in order to discover facets of yourself that maybe you didn't know existed. In doing this, perhaps you will also find the career direction you didn't know you were looking for. Love, Your Future Self