Being apart of ENR scholars means being apart of a community. At the center of this community lies Kaitlyn Santinoceto; my mentor. If you’ve ever met Kaitlyn, you know there is nothing this girl can’t do. She is full of passion and excitement. Kaitlyn was eager to share a little advice about college and the ENR scholars program itself.
Being an animal science major, Kaitlyn is no stranger to studying, like most of us. A couple of her favorite places to study include Thompson and the Agricultural Library. She describes a quaint reading room on the second floor of Thompson that not many people know about. There are small couches, a fireplace, and bookshelves, everything that one would need for a late night study session. Also on the agricultural campus, their library is full of natural light and isn’t too overwhelming. Although their hours aren’t 24/7 like most of us would like them to be, they provide comfortable spaces for studying.
Aside from schoolwork, Kaitlyn is involved of a lot of extracurricular activities, which is an understatement in every sense of the word . I asked her what her take-aways were from these groups she’s involved in and the list was immense, in a good way. I think it would be safe to say that she is passionate about CHAARG, a female motivational workout group that is campus and nationwide. Kaitlyn says that CHAARG gave her the opportunity to meet new friends and find a place in an organization. Not only has she met a lot of new people on campus through CHAARG, but she has made a lot of friends out of state that are also involved in CHAARG that share the same passion of being healthy and exercising. Aside from CHAARG, Kaitlyn is an OA for Morrill Tower. She says that her job here helped her meet a lot of new people in Morrill even though sometimes the job gets stressful. She is also involved in the Pre-Vet Club on campus. Kaitlyn says the benefit of this club is that it’s good for her major but it’s hard to balance the time to make the meetings. Her role in Buck-I-SERV, being a trip leader, has provided her with leadership skills along with the opportunity to provide community service. More of Kaitlyn’s leadership involvement also stems from being on the ENR Leadership Council board and being a mentor. Kaitlyn says her role in ENR involves a lot of planning and management. She describes this role as the real deal, not like high school clubs where the adults do all the work for you, in ENR you plan the events that the scholars want and you make it happen. STEP also provided Kaitlyn with more management skills regarding finances and workload. She has met a lot of people through STEP, including professors. Kaitlyn says that overall, networking is very important and will help you in the long run. She is still a little iffy about her major, but she is confident these connections that she has established will help guide her career path. Kaitlyn stressed that not only do these organizations provide relationships, but they’re also a good outlet from schoolwork. It’s hard in college because studying can consume you at times, but you have to remember that you’re a person too and you have to add personality to your student life.
Looking back at her ENR involvement, Kaitlyn loves anything that involves outdoor adventure. She enjoyed the camping trip again because she got to know the first years better and she likes a lot of the events she participated in last year through ENR. She recalled a rock climbing course, a ropes course, and the weekly hikes she went on. All of these events helped her become more aware of her capabilities and interests in outdoor adventure. She also really likes being apart of the LC for ENR because it gave her a new perspective on how leadership works and engaging with her peers. Overall she recommends to get involved and do the events because you won’t regret them and you could learn something about yourself, like a hidden passion you never knew you had.
Although Kaitlyn is still trying to find her way major wise, she definitely has an idea of what her dream job would be. Her interests include animals and helping people, especially children with disabilities. She says that she wants to help people through science specifically and if she could incorporate animals in that, it would be the perfect concoction of a job. Since Kaitlyn was seven years old she had her sights set on being a vet, but now she’s reconsidering that career path which is scary considering about two thirds of her life she had her future planned out and deviating from the plan is anything but comforting. Kaitlyn is currently acknowleding her other interests and exploring the waters. She talks about wanting a future to help disabled children but also working at a zoo with exotic animals. Whichever direction she chooses, she is more than qualified and I’ sure she’ll find her dream job, if not she’ll probably just create it if it doesn’t exist already.
Some last tid bits of advice Kaitlyn had to offer were about open-mindedness and setting limits. She advised, through personal experience, to be open to change and new interests. For her this involved possibly changing her career path, but it can apply to every aspect of life. Ultimately you should recognize that there are other things in the world that can make you happy other than what you are already comfortable with. Also Kaitlyn advised to not over extend oneself, which she claims to do frequently. However she said that she learned to set limits and put effort into what she cares about, so that she doesn’t have to ration her efforts. Lastly, she said to just relax when needed. School is important, but your health is more important. Kaitlyn was really helpful in providing insight and advice about college and life. I believe that everyone should take something from what she had to say because it’s applicable to anyone, especially first year ENR students!
Specific Questions Asked:
- What is the best place to study on campus?
- What benefits have you received from getting involved outside of the classroom?
- What ENR Scholars opportunities are you glad you participated in?
- What is your dream job and why?
- What advice do you wish someone gave you your freshman year?