Recently we had a class discussion on John Henry Cardinal Newman’s Discourse 5. Knowledge, It's Own End. In this class discussion we talked about all aspects of college and a fellow classmate brought up whether or not going to college was a scam.
I completely disagree with the idea of college being a scam. No matter what field you go into, college is important. The knowledge and experience I received in college has been invaluable. In the fall of my freshmen year, was the only person from my high school attending UL. Coming from North Louisiana, everyone graduates and goes to college at Louisiana Tech, ULM, and LSU. I went to school with the same people from kindergarten to senior year. Not that I did not want to be their friends, but I wanted to experience college on my own and make new friends. Upon coming to school I moved into the dorms with 3 random people. I was SO lucky. I loved my roommates and my suitemates and to this day I am still friends with them. I joined a sorority and met some of my best friends and my college support system. Joining a greek life gave me the opportunity to network. This network helped me get my first internship in Atlanta working for Coca-Cola headquarters.
This job really changed my life. Working for Coca-Cola Headquarters has been one of most interesting things I have ever done. That job alone opened numerous doors for me, and I have gained extensive knowledge in my field. Moving almost four hours away from home has been so beneficial to me. Lafayette is close enough that I can go home whenever I like. But it is not so close that I feel obligated to go home every weekend. This distance helped me. The distance gave me enough space to let me be an “adult” but also allowed me to go home as well. Not being able to go home every weekend was good for me. Do not get me wrong, I am a huge family person but I think that I needed to grow up and be able to make my own decisions and figure out how to live on my own.
College also allowed me to think more independently. My parents always allowed me to form my own decisions, which I am very thankful for. This allowed me to be my own person. But upon arriving to college I really only had to think about myself in a sense. I was solely responsible for me.
Coming to college and making friends with people who are so different from me gave me a more open mind. I became more accepting of people and learned to love people in different ways. One thing that I think college does for my generation is make us more accepting of others around us. College used to be only for the elite, so everyone was similar. These days college is for everyone. I think this is beneficial because I get to interact with people who have a completely different thought process than me. Even though I might not agree with everyone here I think the critical thinking skills that come from an experience like this are precious.
The classes I have had in college some have been beneficial and yet some have not. I think that UL tries to make each major have a well rounded curriculum. I am in Moody College of Business and I am required to take many different types of courses. These courses range from accounting to geology. Though I have not really enjoyed all of the classes I have taken, I am still thankful for the opportunities to grow that UL has given me. I think that a lot of students get bogged down in the school work and forget that college is a privilege. College has not only helped me grow academically but also as a person. I would not be who I am today without the experiences I have had in college. I would like to thank UL, for the opportunities I have had in Lafayette. I think college is valuable, and I wish everyone was lucky enough to experience the “true college experience.” I would also like to thank all my professors, and friends I have met here. Thank you UL for shaping my young adult life, and giving friends, experience, worldly and scholarly knowledge in the past four years.
-Savanna
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