Student Story

What is one thing you wish you would have known beginning college?

"One thing I wish I would have known when I was beginning college was that I would change…a lot. While this seems to be an obvious part of moving away to an entirely different place while doing an entirely different thing in your life, I was so persistent on the fact that I was already set in my ways, and that college would only change me with regard to my education. In reality, I would say the smallest aspect of my life that changed was education. What really changed in my life was how I interact with people, and how I need to adopt humility in every relationship I form. Thinking I was already right about so much set me up to fail when interacting with new people who had experiences I actually knew nothing about. Having the humility to say, 'I don’t know about this, but I would like to learn more', could’ve gotten me a lot further in my relationships with others if I had thought that way when I first arrived at IU."

What advice would you give a student navigating their career development?

"One piece of advice I would give to any student starting to navigate their career development would be to consider yourself a professional, even if you don’t feel like it. I hate to break it to you, but you are an adult in college, and that is a HUGE step in your professional development. Meaning you are, in fact, a professional. If you feel like you should not be involved in professional activities because you 'aren’t experienced enough', you are immediately denying yourself a potential opportunity to grow in your career. Put yourself out there. Make a professional LinkedIn. Go to networking events. Apply to that internship. The list goes on because you already are a professional by being a college student. You just need to treat yourself like it!"

How has your identity impacted your career choices?

"Being a gay man who grew up in a very conservative home/hometown, I have known what it means to be an outsider, and I want my career to be devoted to helping those who feel the same in their current situation. After I graduate, I will be joining the Teach For America 2023 Corps as a English Language Learning Secondary Education Teacher. Through this position, I hope to develop my skills in teaching the English language to those who may struggle to speak it, and I want to do so to provide them with skills that will transfer outside of the classroom. Later on in my career, I hope to make changes at the administrative level in education to better equip all teachers and those involved in education to do the same. Children and young adults often suffer the experience of feeling like an outsider, and my goals in life are to provide them with an education that not only teaches them useful skills, but also how to be themselves in any space they find themselves in."