Hi there! Thanks for visiting my blog! My name is Jackie, and I’m starting my last semester of my program as a Master’s student in the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education at Michigan. I am really excited to be able to share with you my experiences, hopes, and achievements over the course of this year. It’s definitely going to be a hard transition; I feel like I just got here, and now I have to begin finding a new home as I complete my degree and look for a job where I can apply the knowledge and skills I gained in my time at Michigan.
I am originally from New Jersey, and attended public school in a suburban, tight-knit community. When the time came, many of my classmates looked to go to large, public universities outside of the state, and quite a few of them ended up enrolling at Michigan. As someone who had spent a large amount of time growing up in the South, I was boggled by how people would want to go north into the snow and cold! I ended up enrolling at Vanderbilt University. While there, I decided to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Cognitive Studies and Anthropology, with a minor in Sociology. I also was active in the Vanderbilt University Concert Choir and I served in many leadership roles across campus. It was the culture and experiences of Vanderbilt that led me to seek a job that would allow me to contribute at a college or university providing similar opportunities for others. I began looking at various programs for higher education administration, and was drawn to one of the very schools I dismissed years prior!
After experiencing the weather and hospitality of the South, I knew that it was going to be hard to leave. Ultimately, my choice came down to an unranked Southern college where I would be granted a scholarship worth almost the full price of tuition, and the University of Michigan, where I would attend the best program for higher education, but it would involve more financial oversight on my behalf. Ultimately, I knew that by leaving the familiar, I would be challenged in ways that I had never even considered.
I am sure you can guess that I ultimately ended up enrolling at… Michigan! I chose Michigan for the sense of spirit and community across campus and beyond, for the quality of the academics and professors, for the opportunity to be involved in events and activities that would be fun yet help me develop beyond a resume. Read that last sentence as: Michigan also has amazing athletics and alumni networking, classes where professors will support you but make you work harder than you ever have in your life, and allow you to supplement your courses with tons of extracurricular options that will benefit you after you graduate. I look forward to sharing my experiences at Michigan with you over the course of this school year!
Published in: Student Voices