Going off to college and thinking you have it all together, knowing what you want to do after you graduate, until those famous question comes up at family gatherings. “what is your major”, what are you going to do after college.” Then you are stuck for about 2 seconds and you try to think of something really quick to say. Well being a senior that was me a couple of times at the dinner table, I knew I wanted to do a lot of things but I had no direction. I kept changing my mind back in forth but one thing that stayed consistent was my involvement on campus. I started on getting involved with a variety of committees in organizations and being a general member of clubs. To actually planning events and implementing different things in organizations as I got into higher positions.
I loved working with people and helping them get involved and my junior year I became a resident assistant, I loved every part of it, making people feel welcomed, talking to different people from various backgrounds all the way to advising them with picking classes. I really enjoyed my job and it had a huge impact on me and through the grape vine I heard about NASPA, I went and everyone was so nice and generous. I talked to a lot of people and became more knowledgeable. After returning from the conference is when it clicked, that I could really do this a full time career.
All my experiences and involvement on campus would only enhance my ability to succeed. I started talking to my hall director and some other faculty at my campus. They told be about College Student Personnel and Student Affairs. Then I started to research it more and I heard about the NUFP mentoring program, I heard about all the other conferences that happen during the year. I just kept getting excited about the program and that is when I realized I made a step in the right direction. Now my senior year I am applying to different grad programs, I am visiting different schools, and talking to people to get their advice on certain things. I am also trying to attend this conference and while I am there, I would like to network with others, learn about the profession and seize out the different opportunities that have been afforded to me. This conference will really give me another stepping stone to my future endeavors and it would be my second time attending it, but my first time as a NUFP mentee.
I have finally realized my passions and goals and that is to be a resource and help others succeed. I try my best to keep stepping in the right direction, soon I will be graduating and getting accepted in to programs and being able to start my masters program within the next year. My goals for when I graduate with master’s is to learn as much as I can and be able to advise and assist students, and help them find their step in the right direction. If it wasn’t for the guidance of my mentors and family, then I may not have been where I am today.