I had a pretty good hunch that my first year at Towson University was going to be better than ever. I love college and I always have. I've spent two stressful yet amazing years at Essex Community College as the Student Government secretary and a future writer. CCBC really helped me figure out my career path and major. The people there- professors, coordinators and colleagues- were always there to shape me to become an even better person. I felt that this transition to a four year school was going to be smooth and easy.
But as a transfer student, it was one of the toughest years I've ever had.
I got fired from Towson Phonathon after working there for a month because I wasn't getting enough pledges from the people I called. And Towerlight editor Carrie Wood nearly killed my dream of becoming a writer and ended my aspirations of writing for it.
I looked at other organizations in relation to my major and other interesting things. I wanted to see the television station before I found out their fee was $15 and they met in the evening when I normally go home. A couple of old friends I saw on occasion told me that no one watches the WMJF station and no one bothers to listen to XTSR, the campus radio.
Worst of all, I had the worst time interacting with other students and finding time to attend club meetings. I'm normally at school all day, from 8 in the morning until around 6:30 p.m. when my parents come to pick me up for dinner. I still don't drive because I can't afford a car, or driving classes or the car insurance plan my parents are on.
So for the first year of school, I missed out on most events since they happened at night. Sometimes I showed up at Ballroom Dance Club and Society of Professional Journalists meetings, but I didn't have the money to pay for dinner Tuesday nights so I could go to either or both of them. They both still happen on the same night.
Also, in my first semester I found that everyone already knew each other; so I felt like I was just dumped here. I still feel like that today, even though I had the greatest time of my life networking with 60 students at LeaderShape in January.
The only thing that went well for me besides that was my academic scores. I was on the Dean's List twice this past year and I'm going to be inducted into the National Society of Collegiate Scholars on September 25.
Today, I still don't have a lot of places to turn to. Ever since the incident with Wood, I can't find other places to engage with students, help my community, and gain experience in the journalism field. Things are much tighter now that I go to class 4 days a week and my dad just got a new job that lets him off at 7 p.m. so he doesn't get home until 8. He even works weekends and he's off on Tuesday and Wednesday only.
At least he has a job now. Due to the economy and General Motors going bankrupt, my father's been unemployed for the first half of the year until he finally got hired by a customer service company.
But I'm sick of getting up at 6 in the morning and missing out on everything at night. Most of the people I know are busy as Residence Assistants or with other work and I rarely get to see them. I want to help my community, but I don't know where to start.
Housing and Residence Life won’t even let me live at Towson Run because there’s no space available. I can’t live anywhere else on campus except overly expensive Millennium Hall since I’m a junior. I could live at Donnybrook, Kenilworth or Cardiff Hall, which are much cheaper, but: 1. some students get attacked, robbed, or assaulted by men there, according to online campus alerts, and 2. I want to save the money I've earned from rebate checks to pay back my student loans.
In short: I'm completely stuck. I have so many barriers that I'm trying to break down.
But as a transfer student, it was one of the toughest years I've ever had.
I got fired from Towson Phonathon after working there for a month because I wasn't getting enough pledges from the people I called. And Towerlight editor Carrie Wood nearly killed my dream of becoming a writer and ended my aspirations of writing for it.
I looked at other organizations in relation to my major and other interesting things. I wanted to see the television station before I found out their fee was $15 and they met in the evening when I normally go home. A couple of old friends I saw on occasion told me that no one watches the WMJF station and no one bothers to listen to XTSR, the campus radio.
Worst of all, I had the worst time interacting with other students and finding time to attend club meetings. I'm normally at school all day, from 8 in the morning until around 6:30 p.m. when my parents come to pick me up for dinner. I still don't drive because I can't afford a car, or driving classes or the car insurance plan my parents are on.
So for the first year of school, I missed out on most events since they happened at night. Sometimes I showed up at Ballroom Dance Club and Society of Professional Journalists meetings, but I didn't have the money to pay for dinner Tuesday nights so I could go to either or both of them. They both still happen on the same night.
Also, in my first semester I found that everyone already knew each other; so I felt like I was just dumped here. I still feel like that today, even though I had the greatest time of my life networking with 60 students at LeaderShape in January.
The only thing that went well for me besides that was my academic scores. I was on the Dean's List twice this past year and I'm going to be inducted into the National Society of Collegiate Scholars on September 25.
Today, I still don't have a lot of places to turn to. Ever since the incident with Wood, I can't find other places to engage with students, help my community, and gain experience in the journalism field. Things are much tighter now that I go to class 4 days a week and my dad just got a new job that lets him off at 7 p.m. so he doesn't get home until 8. He even works weekends and he's off on Tuesday and Wednesday only.
At least he has a job now. Due to the economy and General Motors going bankrupt, my father's been unemployed for the first half of the year until he finally got hired by a customer service company.
But I'm sick of getting up at 6 in the morning and missing out on everything at night. Most of the people I know are busy as Residence Assistants or with other work and I rarely get to see them. I want to help my community, but I don't know where to start.
Housing and Residence Life won’t even let me live at Towson Run because there’s no space available. I can’t live anywhere else on campus except overly expensive Millennium Hall since I’m a junior. I could live at Donnybrook, Kenilworth or Cardiff Hall, which are much cheaper, but: 1. some students get attacked, robbed, or assaulted by men there, according to online campus alerts, and 2. I want to save the money I've earned from rebate checks to pay back my student loans.
In short: I'm completely stuck. I have so many barriers that I'm trying to break down.
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