I remember in October 2019 walking onto MSU’s campus for the first time. My whole life was surrounded with green and white, thanks to my dad and my grandparents being alumni of MSU. I remember walking by the Red Cedar with my dad and thinking about the trees’ leaves beginning their transformation from green to the vibrant yellow, red, and orange. MSU was the first campus that reminded me of my own home.
Later that month, I was sitting in anatomy when I received an email notification from MSU stating they made a decision on my application. I initially applied because they had the classes I wanted to take; I chose to be a linguistics major because I wanted to know the science behind learning a new language, and I minored in Korean and TESOL because they’re additional programs that can help me with my future career path.
Since I was finished with all my work, I logged in with my heart beating frantically and saw that I had been accepted. I quickly asked my teacher if I could go out to make an important call. As soon as I was in the hallway, I called my mom while I was shaking with excitement and told her the good news. Later that evening, I promptly accepted my invitation.
Senior year continued on, until the pandemic hit, but I still had hope of living on campus in fall. However, that didn’t happen.
I’m from a suburb in Chicago and my parents thought it would be better if I learned from home so that they wouldn’t worry about my health and safety. I agreed. I didn’t want them to be stressed out, but I was still excited to begin my education.
During the summer, I received another invitation from a program called Citizen Scholars. I agreed with all of the core values that they had, so I promptly applied. A day later, I received an email from LaDonna with a smiley face at the end (something that immediately made me feel welcomed into the community).
During the fall semester, Citizen Scholars put on many online events. One of my favorite events I attended was watching the Netflix documentary 13th. I particularly like this meeting because we talked about current situations and how we, as individuals, could step up and help our peers. The conversations we have are in a safe place where I feel comfortable listening to others’ different views and sharing my own experiences. This aspect of the program is definitely my favorite.
Another portion of the program happens in the spring semester, which is taking AL 491 (a.k.a the introduction to the Citizen Scholars program). The class itself is fun and informational, but it also teaches a new value of Citizen Scholars once a week through group projects. For example, in last week’s class, a group presented about social justice and various ways to get involved through Citizen Scholars. It’s interesting to hear what my peers have to say about their own personal experiences and how they connect them to Citizen Scholar values.
Because I’m shy, it can be challenging to share my own experiences. However, since the class is another safe space, I feel comfortable relating to others, sharing my experiences, and even encouraging myself and my peers to become better people overall.
One of my takeaways from the class is that I feel equipped to become a leader, which is important to the career path I want to pursue. I want to become a teacher, so in my mind, I have to teach kids to uphold the same values we learned in Citizen Scholars so that one day, they’re the ones leading change in the world.
I plan on continuing in the program throughout my time at MSU because Citizen Scholars is a community where I definitely feel like I belong, and I know I’ll learn valuable skills to help me in the future.