STUDENT STORY

“I came to Ferris State University undecided on a major — I had no idea what I wanted to do. The possibilities were endless. Ferris helped me with a lot of career counseling and did personality exercises with me to see what type of career could match my skill set. That’s how I eventually chose applied speech communications.

I come from a town that did not have a lot of diversity. Coming to Ferris introduced me to people from so many different cultures, and I love it. I help put on a Chinese New Year celebration every year and recently attended a Day of the Dead-themed ball. It’s so cool learning about different cultures.

None of my friends from high school came to Ferris with me, so I was a little worried about the transition. When I got here, I would just randomly start talking to classmates so I could meet new people. Through that, I realized that we were all in a similar situation, which made it less scary.

I wasn’t the best student in high school, so I was worried that college was going to be way too difficult. When I got here, I realized that wasn’t the case. I realized the course work was manageable if I put in the time and work. It’s definitely not worth it to let fear keep you from coming to college. Talk to your professors and make a lot of connections and you will make it.

I started to join organizations which also made my college experience great. I believe that the more you get involved, the more you find out what you want to do. I founded my own Latino-based fraternity, Sigma Lambda Beta. I myself am not Latino, but have a lot of friends who are, and when we started this fraternity it became a place where people of all cultures are welcome and can come together to succeed.

On top of that, I stay involved in the American Marketing Association and the Public Relations Student Society of America. I also run the social media program for the Communications Department. That’s a lot of fun, and aligns with what I’m studying. That position helped me get a summer internship with the Office of Admissions, where I got more practice in the area of social media.

I don’t think I would have come to college if it weren’t for financial aid. I was lucky enough to get the Tuition Incentive Program (or TIP) which helped me pay for my first two years of college. My parents also took out some parent PLUS loans to help support me. Other forms of financial aid through FAFSA are ensuring I can get my degree.”

(Tyrell, Applied Speech Communications, Ferris State University)