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Help Me, Student Advocacy! You’re My Only Hope!

So many freshmen students come to campus confused. Confused on why they’re even there. Confused on what they want to do. Confused on what major to enroll in. Most of these students are traditional college age (17-19 years old). Some of these students are forced to go to college by parents who want their children to have a better life, and more opportunities. This is good and bad. This is good because the parents truly care for their children’s well-being. However it is also crippling their children by forcing them into a situation where they often have no prior experience, and lack the maturity and real-world experience to truly know what they want to do.

I am a non-traditional student, and I have changed my major three times; I recently added two minors to make my portfolio more full. (More on that later.) I often hear students complain what is the point of an advisor. Well, they are there for a reason, not just for academic decor. Yet, I encourage students to look at their Degree Audit. You can’t go wrong here. The D.A. tells every student what exact courses they have to take to complete their degree. It also breaks down the options for what electives can be used to fulfill requirements. Advisors do come into play. It is best to meet with your advisor to see what courses you plan on taking are actually being offered. *PLAN IN ADVANCE* Some courses are offered 1 or 2 times a year. If you miss one because of your schedule, emergency, etc. your advisor can help you plan on when you can take it again. You also need to meet with them if you are adding/changing major/minors, like I recently did. You can’t simply say, “Today I am changing to Biomedical Engineering and minoring in Star Wars History (That’s a joke!), but you get my point. Without meeting with your advisor to properly change your major/minor you will literally not be able to enroll in the courses you need to complete that major/minor.

Advisors help in a variety of other ways too. My suggestion is to schedule an appointment with your advisor at the beginning and the end of the semester, and anytime that you have an emergency or you’re confused. Oftentimes advisors have walk-in hours. These walk-ins are only for 10 minutes. So you have 10 minutes to ask your question and get an answer before the door hits you in the behind. It is wise when you do walk-ins to have a prepared list of your questions, and room to write their responses down. Keep it short and simple. Advisors have a lot on their plate that you don’t know about, because it’s simply none of your business.

So I mentioned that I recently added two minors. In Fall 2015 I added the Professional Writing Minor, and the Education Minor. I found out I was only two classes away from completing both minors. Since I am dependent on Financial Aid, I needed to maintain full time status (12 credits or more), adding one course per semester from each minor helped me reach that status. Thus enters my dilemma. In Fall 2015, my Financial Aid loans were nearing my maximum capacity. YES! There is a limit to how much you can borrow. I can now only receive my Pell Grant, and my SEOG Grant. These two grants cover most, but not all, of my tuition but leave about $1-2000 of tuition for me to pay out of pocket. Last semester, I was actually dropped from all of my classes because I didn’t have the funds to cover the remaining balance. *Enter Student Advocacy*

Thankfully our university has the Student Advocacy Center, which is located on Columbus campus. This office actually paid the remaining balance for me, re-registered all my courses, and dropped the late fee costs as well. As a senior who is only one year away from completing my degree, I was deemed a great candidate for this additional funding. I was informed that there might be a chance they could fund my remaining balance for Spring 2016. My tuition posted, my balance was paid, but left me with $1710.00 this semester to pay out of pocket.

I began working with Vocational Rehabilitation in December who thinks that I will be highly eligible for covering the costs of my remaining semester’s tuition/books. Tuesday I spoke with my case manager who informed me that she was just beginning my paperwork, and there would be no way to get my tuition paid for until Summer at the earliest. I had already contacted Student Advocacy to see if there was any chance that they could help again with the remaining balance. Wednesday afternoon I had an email that confirmed my remaining balance was paid for. I can’t express how big of a relief that was!

If you’re a student who might run into a similar situation, or you need someone who can fight for you to help you get closer to obtaining your degree, check out the OSU Student Advocacy Center at http://advocacy.osu.edu/

…and remember, Go Bucks!

 

College Pays You To Travel

Ever wanted to travel? Never left your city, county, state? Enroll in college now!

Thanks to the Study Abroad programs (& also the Office Of Outreach and Engagement, and campus jobs) through The Ohio State University, I have studied abroad in Berlin, Germany (July 1-31, 2012), Montreal/Ottawa/Quebec, Canada (May 2014), statewide conferences in Ohio (since 2010), Impact Conference Deland, Florida (2011), and frequent trips to New Orleans, Louisiana (2012-present).

January 29- Feb 3, 2016 I will be returning to New Orleans, fully paid for by campus, for the release of two documentaries my friends and I have filmed over those frequent trips. The local PBS station in New Orleans has decided to air our films, further spreading the importance of the Mardi Gras Indians and their cultural significance in local, national, and global capacities!

*stop* You might be saying. He’s lying. Nope, actually I am not. Depending on the actual course (study abroad) the entire cost can be covered by your tuition. Some study abroads might not cover all of your cost, however trips at my campus are absurdly lower than OSU Columbus campus trips. (Not transferring does have its perks…*lip smack*)

Another way to save from paying anything out of pocket is by applying for undergraduate research funds. *STOP* again you say? Chile, this research isn’t your traditional assigned research. If you already have an interest in doing something in the location…for example, the Eiffel Tower in Paris…you can apply for up to $1500.00 to cover costs from air fare, ground fare, housing, food, museum/bus/trolley passes, costs for printing your photos from the trip, and even for purchasing supplies (books, posters, trinkets, etc).

Now you’re talking, you say? College isn’t always about being in a classroom, it’s also about finding your future. I found my future by traveling. Where will yours be?

If you need help, or have questions…leave a little love in the comment box below and I will hook you up with the sweet deals that our campus has to offer.

…and remember, Go Bucks!

Intent to Pay, or Not To Pay Form

Good evening readers!

After a long day at work, and a filling dinner with friends, I sit here chicken-pecking this post for your benefit, and my frustration.

My boss informed me today of the “Intent to Pay Form”, which is a silly piece of paper that essentially says, “I agree to pay my tuition”. Said form, that I didn’t know existed, was due today, before the office closed.

How does a student know this form exists? Well, they don’t, unless it falls out of the academic sky above and bitch smacks you across the face…or, in my case, someone who cares about you and knows higher education bureaucracy informs you, like my boss.

The paper is one-sided, and simple to fill out. All you need is some basic info, check a box (or two), John Hancock and date that shit. No, wait, scratch that. You also need to attach proper documentation! Proper documentation? Why, what in blazes is that, you ask? I’m glad you asked. I asked, too! See conversation below:

Worker: Do you have documentation?

Me: Um, this paper. *mentally thinking, This paper doesn’t suffice to say that I promise to pay what I owe, because it is a form that says I will do just that. Right?*

W: Proper documentation of the scholarship you’ve been awarded.

M: I’ve been awarded a scholarship?

W: *sassy attitude begins*

M: *explains I am pending notification if I’ve been awarded funds via Vocational Rehabilitation, or not.

W: I will just write that on here, and turn it in. Check back with Fees & Deposits later tomorrow.

Me: Can I bring documentation tomorrow and then check back later in the day?

W: *eye brows raised, pursed lips, blank face* Mhm.

Moral of this Story: Pending

…and remember, Go Bucks!

Charisma in Progress

On Christmas Eve a date asked me out for some drinks, which escalated to a party at their friend’s.

We were all laughing, and I was having a great time with these new people I just met…until one of the guys said to me, “You know, you’re really snarky and you’ve been mean to me all night. You’ve been insulting us and very superior-like.”

*gasp* I was shocked and confused. I had to look to my side to see if he was talking to someone who must have slipped in unbeknownst to me. But there wasn’t. It was definitely me. I stuttered, “Me?”

I won’t bore you with the details, but I was mortified that I clearly was behaving so viciously to these strangers that I thought I was getting along with. *Imagine* Me, crying like a schoolgirl that some boy on the playground just ripped her babydoll away.

Confused, mortified, ashamed. I went home. I slept it off. Woke up, and slept it off even more. I was tramautized, still am, from this incident. I pride myself on trying to make others feel welcome, happy, special.

Rewind to the end-of-semester for our office evaluations. Some of my evaluations claimed I was “rude, but helpful”. (I am still trying to figure that one out.

Combining these two isolated incidents, I have been trying to improve myself. Pinpoint when my rampant sarcasm can be confused for meanness. Realize when I am not fully present. Mold myself into the person I envisioned myself to be prior to these events.

*Enter self-help book* I purchased The Charisma Myth, by Olivia Fox Cabone, for $1.00 in our campus bookstore. I read the first chapter Fall of 2015 and then the semester, work, life got in the way. Now that it is a new year, a chance for renewal, change, betterment I resumed the reading tonight.

“When you’re perceived as disingenuous, it’s virtually impossible to generate trust, rapport, or loyalty. And it’s impossible to be charismatic.” (Page 14)

The moral of the story: I don’t want to be the person people look at and feel that I can’t empathize, trust, or be approached. I want to be the person that people come to because they know I have their back, no judgements, no ulterior motives, no agendas. I want to be the Me that I thought I was, not the Me these people think I am.

…and remember, Go Bucks!

Hello Buckeye Friends & Family!

Welcome!

Thanks to the inspiration of my best friend Coryn Coleman, I have decided it is time to create this blog.

The name is a bit self-explanatory, but I can elaborate. On January 11, 2016 I will begin the first day of my final year at The Ohio State University at Newark.

Since Fall of 2010, I have been a student at Ohio State Newark. This is a beautiful, and close -knit campus. Over the years I have developed many friends, mentors, and opened up many doors for myself that I never once dreamed possible. One of these being my job as an Academic Coach for the Buckeye Generation Learning Community, and the Engineering Learning Community. I began the job as an Academic Coach in August of 2012, when I came home from studying abroad in Berlin, Germany for the entire month of July.

I didn’t know it then, but I quickly found out truly how much I enjoy working with first generation college students. I, myself, am a first gen student, as well as my coworkers, and the professors that our students have for classes.

As a first gen student, there are so many issues that we run into. As an upper classman, I help these students reach the same goal that I have…a college diploma.

This blog will be dedicated to the ups and downs of this final year at campus. The goal of this blog is to help under classmen/women and future college students see the first-hand experience from a student’s perspective. College isn’t easy, but it is worth it!

So stay tuned and follow me on my crazy journey to the day I have dreamed of since I was a child…the day that I cross the stage, shake the Dean’s hand, and accept the diploma that I have worked so hard to obtain, despite all the obstacles. If it can happen for me. It can happen for you!

…And remember, Go Bucks!!!!