Getting involved on campus has changed my college life for the better. If you had told me my freshman year that I would be a peer coach for three years, I would not have believed you.
Freshman year, I was feeling lost and didn’t feel like I had a place here at Utah Tech University. I was super involved in high school and felt lost when I got to college and wasn’t involved in anything.
One day during spring semester of freshman year, I got an email saying that the Peer Coach Program was hiring for the next school year. I decided to apply since it was an on-campus job and sounded like exactly what I needed. I interviewed, and two weeks later, I got an email saying I got the job. It was the news I needed.
Over the years of being a peer coach, I have felt more and more at home. Being able to meet so many people from all different backgrounds made me feel better about the situation I was facing. Being able to connect with students about the experiences I have had in college to help them go through their struggles has been a blessing in disguise.
I am an out-of-state student and get homesick very easily. Helping explain to students that everyone faces struggles their first year at college made it easier to accept my own struggles.
Being able to connect with my fellow peer coaches made it feel like I had a second family. I have made lifelong friends from this program, and they have been able to support me when my family can’t.
A semester into being a peer coach, I applied to be in leadership. I was then hired to be vice president of team relations. For the past two years, I have been VP of public relations. Being on the leadership team changed my perspective on how the program worked. I wanted to make it better, especially the social media, since that was what I was in charge of. It took a lot of trial and error to become the leader I am today, but I have been able to learn what it takes to be successful, trustworthy and reliable.
Last year, I was awarded Peer Coach of the Year, and it made me feel like all the hard work I was doing was worth it. Getting the appreciation from my bosses and fellow peer coaches made me feel loved and seen.
By being involved on campus, especially the peer coach program, I have been able to have so many amazing opportunities. I have been a part of the Student Advisory Board, the student board for the next president of Utah Tech University, the academic disciplinary panel and even the Student Fee Advisory Board.
Being on this panel was very important because I was chosen to be the voice of the students. With the knowledge I have gained from being a peer coach, I was able to voice the concerns I have heard from the students to try and make a change. I have been able to expand my horizons and be seen as an important figure at Utah Tech.
During this time, I also decided to start my own club. I am obsessed with K-Pop and the dancing aspect of it all. I didn’t find a club here that corresponded with what I was interested in. I decided to start a club so students who love K-Pop could have a place. I have now been running the K-Pop Dance Club for three years and have seen the impact it has had on the students here. Students have been able to have an outlet and express their true selves. It has been amazing to see the club grow and hear people talk about how much they love the club.
Starting your own club can help students find their own place on campus. Students feel overwhelmed going to the big campus events, and how they aren’t really tailored toward them. By creating a club, they can feel involved and make sure other students feel welcome.
I decided that this wasn’t enough for me and needed one more thing. I decided to join Sun News Daily with that urge. I have always loved interviewing people and editing videos.
Being in Sun News has taught me a lot about branching out and talking to people. I have also loved being able to hear people talk about what they are passionate about. It has been the greatest opportunity to learn about all we offer at Utah Tech and teach others about it.
Getting involved on campus has changed my life. When I first started, I was not feeling like I belonged here and only had one true friend here. Once I got involved, I blossomed into the person I am today. My name is known around campus, and people see me as someone they can always go to.
It made me change my major from nursing to education, because I want to make an impact on students’ lives forever. My advice is to get involved because you never know where it will take you. It might change your college experience for the better.
