Oregon State University-Cascades Campus Top Questions

My undergraduate degree is in Human Development and Family Science with a focus on Human Services. In the process of getting my degree, I took a variety of classes that focused on poverty, social environment, violence, family dynamics, diversity, personal development and how all of these factors combine and interact in the creation of a person. I was taught that in order to help someone achieve his or her goals, I need to look at every aspect of his or her life, instead of just focusing solely on a particular behavior or root aspect, such as socioeconomic status or family. My classes used writing to demonstrate comprehension of the academic material and forced us to apply our knowledge to real life situations rather than simply regurgitating information in an exam.

In high school, give it your all. Students have the ability to plan for their futures here. The effort and focus that a student can put into those four years are what allows the student to gain a head start on their college careers. Once you are in college you will wish that you tried harder in all high school classes especially your senior year in order to set yourself up for the immense work habits college requires. Take AP classes, apply to as many universities and scholarships as possible in order to make your name known to universities and convince them of why they should pursue you. Also, challenge yourself in high school in order to guarantee positive non-frustrating experiences in college. By participating in community service activities and setting up job shadows during high school, students are able to experiment with their interests in order to figure out what their passion is in life. Therefore in college, students can be more focused on pursuing their passion all while having a clear conscious that they gave 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of their effort in high school and made the most of each day.

If I had the chance to travel back in time to 2007, the year I graduated High School, and give myself some advice it would be these statements. Never give up on your dreams, they are achievable, and money can not hold you back. Be yourself, don't let other people change who you are deep down inside, stay true to who you know you are and don't be afraid to have values that are different from other's. Allow for meaningful debate, don't get frustrated and anxious when someone questions your beliefs, stand up for them but also let the other person stand up for theirs. Who knows, maybe you'll change your mind! And last but not least, be strong, nothing can hold you down, you are woman hear you roar!

I would definitely learn to balance my time more effectively between school, work and play. The best advice is to stay on campus until all your homework is completed, so that you stay focused rather than doing it at home where you have the potential to become distracted or not do it at all. I wish I would have learned to not get into the habit of cramming the night before a test, because it is not so easy to do well on exams by studying only the night before as it was in high school. The very best advice is that you don't need to be "smart" to do well in college, you need to be motivated and apply yourself to be successful and do well.