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I think I value the friendships the most from my Honors College experience. There are so
many highly motivated students that you meet in the Honors College, and everybody has such
a diverse background. I would definitely select this, the Smitcamp [phonetic] Family Honors
College over any other program offered. I had such a unique experience. It really felt
like a small liberal arts school on a larger campus. I had smaller classes that were very
challenging and motivating, surrounded by students who are also very goal-oriented and
had very, you know, interesting pursuits. And it was just a lot of fun to get to know
those people and have such a wonderful experience. I did come here thinking that I would like
to be a teacher. I was able to plan out my schedule due to the priority registration.
I was able to get all the classes that I wanted. I was able to arrange my schedule so that
I could volunteer and work part-time in the community and get a lot of valuable job experience,
so I was more marketable when I was able to finish school, and I got hired by Senger [phonetic]
Unified. And I've been working there now for four years. The community experience helped
me learn that I was very comfortable around children. I enjoyed working with children
at all levels and I was able to work at some after-school reading programs, some local
schools, Stone Soup [phonetic], a community outreach program for kids. And, you know,
it just helped me, you know, learn to work with children. I would suggest that future
Smitcamp students would elect to live on campus with Smitcamp roommates, that maybe they would
take advantage of the community service opportunities and the events that Smitcamp offers. I would
also suggest that they would really take advantage of the priority registration so that they
can build their ideal schedule. Actually, I think that the most compelling experience
that I had was just this year, in fact, four years after I graduated. I was able to go
back to the Smitcamp retreat and talk to the future Smitcampers, or the current students,
and just give them some words of wisdom and tell them a little bit about my experience.
It was a very valuable experience for me because I was able to think about the wonderful experience
that I really did have, and I wish I had realized it a little bit more when I was here and unappreciated
it. But I do value the experience that I did have, and it was really nice to talk and meet
with the new students. I think it was fun to just hear their questions about the post-graduate
experience and find out what it really is like after Smitcamp. And it was just fun to
provide them with the different experiences that I had and that my friends also had. And
it -- there are various paths that we've taken. I got a job right after college, and some
of them continued with Masters programs and PhDs, and others, you know, were able to travel
and have a really great experience, you know, just seeing the world. And it was just really
fun to reflect on that and look and see where everybody has gone. The Honors College allows
you to take very challenging and motivating classes, to really obtain some really great
community service work, which really will look great on your resume when you are pursuing
a job after you graduate. You really get a chance to meet people, the staff is friendly,
they answer all of your questions, you are able to just have a really great experience,
and in the end, you know, just you're more marketable after you graduate. One of the
most transformative experiences that I've had was, when I entered the Honors College,
I thought, "Well, they must all be brilliant. I probably won't fit in. I don't know if I'll
make any friends," but I was able to meet people who really were just like me. They
were highly motivated, they really had goals for their future, but they were also very
unique. So I got to meet different people and experience different things within the
four years that I was here, and I have been able to hold onto those friends and memories,
and I highly value that. The thing that sets Smitcamp classes apart from any other class
that you take at Fresno State would be the smaller class size, the professors who are
very passionate about what they teach, and the challenging topics that we discuss in
class. They hold you to such a high expectation, and I think that definitely helps keep you
motivated and, you know, it's really good to have that kind of... Can't think of the
word -- [laughs] motivation and, the bar is set higher in those kind of classes and in
that environment. And the conversations that we were able to have were very interesting
and I gained a lot of information from those experiences. Honors College classes are smaller
and the professors are very passionate about what they teach. Your colleagues, of course,
the other students in the class, know you and they value your opinion. Sometimes other
classes with larger class sizes, you feel sometimes that you're just lost in the crowd
and you don't always get to participate and feel like you can express your opinions in
those settings. And I really feel like those Honors College classes were highly motivating
and kept me performing at a higher level than other courses offered... at this university.
The Honors College provided us with priority registration. So, one, we were able to get
the classes that we wanted and build the ideal schedule that we could have so that we could
still work part-time and volunteer in the community without going crazy. I know I took
about 18 to 24 units each semester, so that definitely helped me schedule everything in
so I could finish a five-year program in four years. Some of the initial classes that we
took as freshman, sophomore Smitcampers, we were very -- we were prepared by our professors
to write speeches, to write college-level reports, and that definitely helped in my
preparation and my experience in other courses at Fresno State and it definitely helped me
cope with... just the amount of work that I had to do to complete my degree and my teaching
credential.