Students of MI: Rebecca

“Once I started getting completely immersed on campus, I realized that Eastern Michigan was the right school for me. It’s so exciting to learn what Eastern has to offer, and I feel like I’m constantly growing with my peers. I’ve made so many great friends here and the environment at Eastern is really cool.

At one point, I wasn’t even sure if I was going to go to college. I didn’t know if I could handle school due to a traumatic experience that was holding me back. My desire to feel proud of myself, to get the degree I knew I wanted and to eventually work with children got me to finally put aside what was holding me back and to apply for college.

I have always loved kids, so I chose elementary education as my major. I remember back when I was a kid, I would put together lessons for my younger brother. I even took a class in high school where I taught preschool kids, which was really fun. It was easy to jump into the major since I knew I’d be good at it. It’s what I love to do.

I started working as an RA last year, which is actually the perfect job for me as an aspiring teacher. I put together engaging programs for our residents, which is just like a lesson plan. I’m building my resume by planning events and giving advice to students. Creativity is something I love getting to use as an RA. The free room and board that comes with the job is definitely great too.

Being at Eastern has helped me discover a lot of different perspectives. As a first-generation college student, a lot of my views and opinions have changed. I get to see how other people grew up and how they were raised. I know learning and empathizing with these different perspectives will help me later in my career. My classrooms will most likely be diverse and I’ll need to know how to work with everybody.

To those thinking about going to college, don’t let others get in your way. People will tell you to take a job out of high school and avoid student loans, but FAFSA exists to help you get by.

Remember that things in life won’t always go as planned—I know from experience. Regardless, it’s important to always stick with your plan no matter what. If you let life’s challenges get in the way, you’re never going to get anywhere. Keep going, because you really will be proud of yourself at the end.”

(Rebecca, Elementary Education, Eastern Michigan University)

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