I did not have any plans on attending college when I was a senior in high school. I was overly social, involved in school clubs and organizations, and also performed in almost every school play and musical. Although I enjoyed school, I was ambivelant about my education. I didn’t consider myself a very good student and felt that the scholarly route through college just wasn’t for me. After I graduated from high school, I began making alternative plans for my future.
My parents encouraged me to take at least a couple courses at then Utah Valley State College (UVSC) while I figured things out. Since some of my older brothers had graduated from UVSC and enjoyed it, I believe it would be worth a try. Without a plan, I enrolled in a couple classes and was truly surprised when I found myself not only enjoying my experience, but doing well in my classes. I was able to pick from a variety of courses that interested me and made friends quickly, I appreciated the personal quality my instructors gave to me during these important early experiences. I didn’t have a lot of direction during the first couple of years in college but they were full of personal growth and I learned that I wasn’t a poor student but lacked a purpose. My inspiration came one semester as I took a few art classes and suddenly had the desire to pursue fashion design.
I declared myself an Art and Visual Communications major and thought I could help develop a plan to build a fashion program at UVSC. With the knowledge that the college would soon be a university, I thought this was a perfect time for a program that no other university in Utah carried; not even the competing neighbor school in the valley. I took a couple business related courses and developed the Fashion Designers and Leaders of Tomorrow (FDLT) club as a research project to support my objective. By this time, I had been a full time student for two and a half years and finally felt I had a purpose!
I met some outstanding students and faculty while creating the club. I began to brush shoulders with student government officers and other various students and that shared similar ideals, goals and ambitions. All were studious and their association and example helped me with my own desire for success. The school made the change to a university by then and if by accident, I stumbled upon the Center for the Advancement of Leadership. This was a center created for the development and study of student leaders. I was already the FDLT president and was a great candidate for this new program but it would require a great deal of additional courses.
I wasn’t extremely close to graduating, though I had a fair amount of credits that would further me towards a diploma, however I liked the idea of graduating with distinction in leadership and I began to take the leadership courses. I was taking Public Speaking and Interpersonal Communications the same semester and realized I was far more interested in these classes than my art classes. After discussing it with my advisor, I decided to change my major. With over three years of school already under my belt, I changed my major to Communications. I began taking the courses in communication and leadership, this time with even more purpose and great interest. One of my leadership courses was a course that was connected to another program at UVU, the UV Mentor program. I ended up getting involved with the UV Mentor program and served as a UV Mentor for two years. I continued taking leadership courses and communications courses as a full time student and pretty soon, graduation didn’t seem too far away! Meanwhile, a director and professor of theatre that I had worked with while I was heavily involved in theatre in high school, transferred to UVU as an Artist in Residence so I decided to also take a few of his theatre courses. This then led me to a Theatre Study Abroad in England and even getting cast in a school musical.
Despite the fact that my time in college turned in to a much longer path then most, I don’t regret any of the time I have spent at Utah Valley University. I have been working towards the goal of graduation with great dedication, but I have also been working hard to learn and grow and develop the skills of a scholar. Taking courses that not only interest me, but classes that stretch me beyond what I think I’m capable of. This journey has taken longer than other individuals and maybe I’ve even had a few distractions and road bumps along the way, but I do not regret any of it. Each course I have taken and every grade I have earned has improved me not only as a student, but as an individual. I have more knowledge, confidence and experience than the majority of people my same age; I just do not have a diploma to show for it.
I am now exactly two courses away from graduation. I have met with my advisor many times and graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Speech Communications with a High Distinction in Leadership is no longer just around the corner, it is only a few steps away! I could not get in my very last senior level course due to an extremely long wait list and because it is only taught in the fall and spring semesters I won’t be able to graduate until December 2012. But for someone who never considered herself a good student and someone who didn’t even want to go to college, graduation is a dream come true…no matter what year is written on my diploma.
