Balancing college and personal life remains problem for gradutes

Graduating seniors are preparing to branch out from the comforts of the college setting and step out into the workforce.

While many seniors have thoroughly enjoyed the crazy ride, it wasn’t without a few bumps along the way.

From mounting student loans to things they would have done differently, each student has his or her own unique experience attached to the MSU college experience.

According Mallory Colley, a graduating senior in applied arts and sciences, MSU was her choice for college because it was close to her home in Arlington.

At the same time, the smaller college setting was exactly what she was looking for and she loves it here, she said.

While Colley said she is not interested in graduate school, she would absolutely recommend MSU to potential college students.

“I would recommend MSU to students who are really focused on learning, rather than jacking around,” Colley said.

After graduation, Colley plans to pursue a job dealing with music, so whether or not she lands a full-time or part-time job isn’t an issue.

However, she said there are a few instances throughout her four-year college career that she would have done differently.

“I would have taken my basics first because I changed my major three times,” she said, “so it got a little complicated.”

Colley said her degree plan has prepared her for the real world in certain aspects like being able to work closely with people.

“My favorite class was film appreciation with [mass communication assistant professor] Gorham,“she said, “but my favorite professor was Lynn Hoggard because she is fabulous at giving one-on-one advice, and you never question her ability to lead discussion and be prepared for class.”

When discussing the topic of financial aid, which Colley has never utilized, other students feel the pressure mounting, as they will, in fact, spend much of their professional careers repaying their debts.

Cornileus Roberson, graduating senior with a bachelor’s in music teacher certification, has been on financial aid throughout his entire college career, but it was never helpful, he said.

“Being on financial aid was the worst decision of my life,” he said. “I will be paying back loans forever, even though I still worked three jobs to afford college.”

At the same time, Roberson said he wishes he had completed his basics at a community college during his summers off. Roberson said he aspires to become a choir director or music teacher after graduation and feels that MSU has successfully prepared him for the work force, but there will always be some underlying factors that one cannot predict.

“[My degree prepared me] to be successful in the knowledge of music,” he said. “ As a future teacher, I now realize there is not a single class that can truly prepare you for the clever minds of today’s youth.”

Roberson said his favorite class was Exceptional Individuals with Millie Gore, who he said is a “rare jewel” that he “will miss deeply.”

“My favorite professor is Don Maxwell [professor of music],” he said. “He taught me more about being successful than anyone else in my life with simple talks. I hated to disappoint him, and when I did, I had to work extremely hard to make him proud.”

While he will not attend graduate school at MSU, Roberson looks forward to experiencing life as a young adult–something that Wichita Falls cannot offer him, he said.

In addition, he feels split in his decision whether or not he regrets coming to MSU. While Roberson has met some wonderful people during his time in college, he said he has witnessed the rapid decline of the school.

“Unless the school’s residency life and student development makes drastic changes to offer more to all students,” he said. “I will never recommend this school. As an African American, I often felt left out because the school rarely recognized the different cultures that are present.”

Roberson also said he would have loved to see more representation of heritages on campus.

“There is so much potential,” he said, “and I believe with the right leadership, MSU will be a powerful option to incoming freshmen everywhere.”

Other students have taken a more non-traditional approach to their studies, but they persevered and ultimately realized their goals.

“It took me six years to finally decide on a degree and graduate,” Rebecca Ferguson, a senior in English, said. “I changed from mass communication to business to engineering (who knew there was math in that?) back to mass communication, then to English where I stayed put.

Obtaining her degree also came with a few familiar hangups that most students can identify with.

“If I could change anything about my time spent in college I would probably take back all the partying I did freshman year, as cliché as that sounds. I probably wouldn’t have lost focus so early and could have graduated sooner.”

Ferguson said she wouldn’t have a problem recommending MSU to prospective college students.

“Sure, I’d recommend MSU. It’s a great school,” she said. “I’ve only had a few unpleasant experiences, but it was usually with a professor and I just never took another class with him or her. I didn’t get involved with many of the programs MSU has, but I’ve heard nothing but good things about all of them.”