UT LEAD Experiences

UT LEAD, as a whole, has been a wonderful experience for me. I thought I was ready for college after taking Dual Enrollment classes in high school. However, after being exposed to a real college atmosphere, I knew I wasn't. This program has taught me how fast a person has to grow up when going to college. I've learned that I am responsible for me, and that nobody else is. I've learned that college is a job, and in order to succeed, you have to give it 110% every single day. Time management and note taking skills are two of the most important things i've been exposed to, and I'm glad that I've had the chance to find out early what it takes to study well and pass classes. I've gotten to experience white water rafting, as well as community service, and both of those things shed new light on my perspective on certain things. Community service was especially a learning experience. Giving back to the community made me feel like I was making a difference. Although I was skeptical about this program at first, I'm very glad that I was chosen for this. It has helped me in so many ways, and I am extremely thankful.

Career Services

Even though I know I want to have a profession in the medical field after I graduate, I haven't been too sure about what it is exactly that I want to do or major in. Upon going to Career Services, I got to see what my interests were in different areas of jobs and what a potential major could be for me. My initial plan was to attend 4 years of medical school and 2-3 years of internship after graduating high school; I thought there were no other options. However, when looking at my strong interest inventory I saw the word "Dentist" near the top of the sheet. After the first day, I went and researched everything I could about the prerequisites for Dental School and life during and after. Since my main reason for being in the medical field was to help people, by being a dentist, I can still help people.
The inventory really helped me to see different careers and points of interest for me and how I can combine them into something for my future. However, I am still not sure what exactly to major in. I scheduled an appointment with one of the associate directors for Career Services so that I can get further assistance with decided what my major could be, as well as other potential careers that I can pursue that I have interest in. I don't mind going to graduate school after graduating from being an undergraduate, but I also don't want to stay in school until I'm 32. I know I'm going to have to work to make money and have a stable career, and that was further stressed to me in the meetings, but I have no problem doing what is necessary to be successful.
I'm glad that I was able to have the experience to learn about Career Services and see how I can be assisted in the future through them.

What Stands Out About College?

When I think about college, the first thing that comes to mind is a class with 300 people in it where the professor could care less about how fast he or she is going or if the students are actually grasping what is being taught. In my mind, college is the place where you get lost, get overwhelmed and stressed out along with struggling to pass your classes so you can keep your scholarship and graduate on time. However, these fears subsided when I came to UT. Even though some of them are still there, such as getting overwhelmed and passing, I have a new point of view on college and how it stands out. I have only been here a week, but things other than my fears about college are beginning to stand out. The one aspect of college that is standing out in my mind now is how much the university is devoted to helping its students succeed. There are so many places and programs that are here specifically for helping the students. We have academic advisors to help us with our classes and academic coaches to help us with our questions, with getting tutors, and so on. Previously, i thought college was a place where I would be completely on my own and I had to figure everything out by myself. Now, I know that there are an abundant amount of resources that can ease my transition into college as well as keep me on track, help me get a job, and make sure I take the classes I need. I know that they aren't there to hold my hand or call me if I miss a class, but I do know that it is my responsibility to contact them if i need assistance. I am lucky to have the solution to my fears stand out in my mind in place of the fears themselves. Knowing that I have all of these people and facilities at my fingertips, I feel a lot better about being a college student. All I see in front of me is succeeding in the future and being able to have a smoother ride there than I had previously assumed.