STUDENT STORY

“I’m from Massachusetts, and leaving home for college was hard at first. Once you settle in, you realize being far from home is a bit scary – but it’s good. One thing I always expected in college is that as soon as you got here you would have so many friends and that everything would work out immediately, but it isn’t like that. The reason why college is so beneficial is because you don’t always succeed.

I was taking 17 credits my first semester and working 20 hours a week and failed my first math exam. I was freaking out my first month here. I didn’t really know a lot of people, but if you’re persistent, if you stay engaged, if you stay committed to what you have to do, you eventually reap those benefits. If my first semester self was able to see what I’m doing now, I would have known it’s definitely worth it to just have a moment where you sit down and relax. It’s not the end of the world if you don’t do well on one exam.

I work anywhere from 20 to 30 hours a week just to make sure I can pay tuition, and it can be a challenge at times. If you do work that’s meaningful, everything’s worth it. You’re not alone if you’re working, and it’s a fun experience when you give back to the community. My favorite and most meaningful engagement was being an orientation leader at University of Michigan Dearborn. I learned about the campus, gave tours to prospective students and their parents, and really dug deep to understand what’s truly important in this community. Communicating the value of coming here to students was a really rewarding experience.

I’ve been president of the Jewish student organization for a year and a half, and I was director of athletics in our student government for a year. I also was the chair of the student section committee, a community organizer for voter engagement and a cartoonist for the Michigan Journal. It’s not always easy to balance everything, but I think it’s important to take the time to assess why you’re doing what you do. This makes my work so much more meaningful and beneficial.

I want to go into politics, or maybe run for office one day, but I believe it’s important to be involved in the community. I want to be involved in local politics, so whatever city I’m in I can be here for them.”

(Jordan Wohl, Political Science, UM-Dearborn)