ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú

James Loy 

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast by the hosts and guests may or may not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú University.

Speaker 

I'm a senior.

Speaker 

I'm about to graduate, and I've done a lot of cool things in college.

Speaker 

I never thought that I was going to be an intramural curler. I never thought that I was going to be the student body president,

Speaker 

These four years have been the biggest amount of growth I've seen in my entire life.

Speaker 

It's not just about the academics, but like, what kind of person you turn into, which is super cool.

Maggie 

I am so much more of a night owl now than I was at the beginning of college.

Lauren Kelley 

If I'm needing a creative boost, night time- for sure.

Maggie 

Oh yeah, that's when, you know, like I'm rearranging my room, you know, like I'm completely--

Lauren Kelley 

Contemplating life entirely--

Maggie 

Contemplating life, you know, trying to think about how I'm gonna get a job after graduation, you know, kicking myself for not going to that one stand at the career fair--

Lauren Kelley 

Not opening a door for a person. Definitely, yes.

Maggie 

That one really embarrassing thing I did three years ago, you know.

Lauren Kelley 

Comes back. It does.

Maggie 

Just normal, just normal, like, you know, midnight things. Well, we're gonna talk a lot more about all the changes that college brings and how it shapes you as a person, because this is Major Insight the podcast where we talk to college students about how to find your place and purpose on campus. My name is Maggie Snee, and my first question is, who are you?

Lauren Kelley 

My name is Lauren Kelley. I'm a double major in Strategic Communication and Individualized Studies, meaning I'm crafting my own major through the Western department in Tech Policy through an International Lens. Long statement but with a double minor in Political Science and Film Studies,

Maggie 

Amazing. So do you kind of want to talk about what got you into those varied fields of studies and how you've stayed interested in them since you've gotten to college?

Lauren Kelley 

Yeah, when I was first applying to ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú, I applied as a professional writing major, which is completely different, but I explored more of the major descriptions on the ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú's website, and I found strategic communications. And I was like, "you know what? I love storytelling. That's the whole reason I wanted, like, found interest in English." And ultimately, I just really wanted to develop my storytelling skills, but in a strategic way, and know how to help other people uplift their voices, whether that's an organization, business, nonprofit or whatnot. And so far, it's been amazing. And then crafting my own major when I also when I was applying to ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú, I wrote about my experience with social media and how it was impacting my peers. And ultimately, I found a lot of interest because I watched a documentary called The Social Dilemma, and I kind of took what I learned from that into my application, and just finding interest in it and wanting to learn more and diving deeper. And some of my Strat Comm courses actually touched on those topics. So I was like, "you know what? What if I just crafted my own major towards this, and I want to kind of explore what other countries are doing with their tech policy."  AI is definitely a hot topic now, so that's kind of my research currently for my capstone in the Western course, writing a really long paper about AI and how we're approaching it domestically, but also how other countries are as well. And my minors are because I did the Inside Washington Program as a freshman, it was an incredible experience. And from there, I was like, you know, what a Political Science minor sounds exactly what I want. And a Film Studies minor was because I'm, I love film. And as a as a little girl, I was like, oh, I want to be in Hollywood. I want to, like, try to help out and be part of that creative process in any way possible. So that's kind of like for my little girl self, is like having a minor in film studies.

Maggie 

Little Lauren fulfilling her dreams. I love that. That's amazing. So how do you find the balance to handle all of that at the same time still be a person in college, you know, have, you know, have your friends, have your social circle. How do you balance all of that, personally.

Lauren Kelley 

It's difficult. It's not easy, yeah, and so time management has been key, obviously, but just it takes trial and error too. So failing sometimes at that, and submitting, you know, some late assignments and then realizing, oh yeah, maybe I should change this up a little bit. But yeah, it's definitely time management. Google Calendar is a savior.

Maggie 

Go Google Calendar.

Lauren Kelley 

Yes, this is not an ad for Google Calendar, so, yeah, just trial and error. And I didn't add that second major until, I want to say my sophomore year, kind of, like, later, towards where I was, like, feeling comfortable. And then the double minors came a little bit afterwards as well. So yeah, just navigating those experiences and being like, yeah, I can take on a little bit more. And then, you know, adjusting when you have some potholes in the road.

Maggie 

Yeah, I agree. I think. What you said about adjusting, I think that's so important, especially for for underclassmen and people just coming in, because the time management in college is so different from anything before that, because you are largely 100% self sufficient, you know, it's just you, you know, like you're making your Google Calendar, you're scheduling your classes, and so I feel like it can be really scary when you've realized I've taken on too much, I can't handle all of this at the same time. And it can be really scary sometimes to admit that to yourself and realize that you need to make an adjustment. Like I know, personally, I started a semester. It was my second semester freshman. I had 18 credit hours. It was not going well. At this point. I had not really learned how to like, maximize my planning abilities and really use Google Calendar to its full advantage. And so I felt really, really overwhelmed, and I was so nervous about, you know, messing up. And you know, the first time that you do submit a late assignment, like you said, you're like, oh my gosh, I failed. I've completely messed up. I'm ruined for the rest of college. You're not. You've just maybe taken on a little bit more than you're capable of. And so I just feel like what you said about, you know, realizing what you can do, your capabilities and your limits, that's so important in college.

Lauren Kelley 

Yeah, like, my biggest challenge was probably sophomore year, and taking on way too much. Because coming after the Inside Washington program, I was like, I want to study abroad, because my internship was the congressional office for international leadership. So obviously, a lot of people there had been abroad, and they were like, You really need to take advantage of that opportunity while you're in college, because it's just so amazing. But even though it's a financial burden, you should strive for it. And for me, I was like, Okay, I got this and I did a co sponsored program in Cyprus. I worked nearly 30 hours a week while doing 18 credit hours. And I was also, yes, it was a lot, it was ridiculous. And during also, when you're in that fast paced period, you don't even realize, like, this is too much like, and even though, like, mentally, you're stressed out and like you said, you don't want to admit it, and you don't know how like, and especially, yes, and it's fine, like, especially if it's with finances, it's hard. You don't know who to reach out to sometimes. So like now looking back on it, I'm like, that was a crazy period that was really hard sophomore year, admitting to myself that I was taking on too much.

Maggie 

If you had to pick another thing that you have struggled with in college, what would it be? How did you overcome it? Did you overcome it? Or maybe you're still working on that?

Lauren Kelley 

Commuting is so hard. Um, shout out to the commuters. The reason is, is because not only are you taking the time to, like, travel and walk, so not only are you driving to campus and then you have to walk to your class. So, like, even though I live 15 minutes away, it's it amounts to, like, 30 minutes, yeah, but and then the motivation to do that is even more difficult. But-- the also-- there's a struggle when like your parents, if you're living with your parents, if you're transitioning from high school and that type of parenting style to okay, we're letting go of you. Go to college, it's like, I love my parents. I'm so appreciative of what they provided to me. But sophomore year commuting- really hard sometimes. It's not-because you're like, there, but you're not there, and your family's like, oh man, we miss you, like, where you're at, and you're like, man, I'm just really hard at work.

Maggie 

Yeah.

Lauren Kelley 

I'm kind of exhausted. And right when you come home, you just go to bed, even though you do want to, like, stay up and chat. So just finding that balance as a commuter between stay- like having a healthy relationship with your parents and not fighting all the time can be hard, and then also just finding a social life too on campus is extraordinarily difficult when you're trying to do academics, extracurriculars. If you're an overthinker like me, you're already thinking, "okay, what do I need to- like what experiences can I get that can help me understand where I want to go in my career?" And it's just- it can be overwhelming. For sure.

Maggie 

There's so many different things to think of all at once. When you start college, you're thinking about, "okay, well, I have to consider my academics", but then also like, "oh, I want to be friends with my roommate, and oh, I want to make friends in my classes, and oh, I want to join this club, but oh, I can't go to that meeting because it's during a class", like there's so many different things just kind of rattling around in your head right when you start. And to then combine that with, Okay, I got to drive to campus today and find parking. I wonder how hard that's going to be today. I do have to ask, How much time do you spend looking for parking?

Lauren Kelley 

 It's just- the time it takes to walk from that parking lot can be painful, especially on cold winter days when it's snowing.

Maggie 

I can't imagine. I think the longest walk I have from where I live to probably my farthest class is in maybe about 10 minutes,

Lauren Kelley 

A dream.

Maggie 

So I definitely am not going to be complaining, even when I'm in my big coat all cold because it is only 10 minutes. Well, so as you've said, being a commuter, being on campus, finding a way to establish those social connections and finding maybe your friends and kind of found family at college, you know, how did you kind of go about that? How have some of your relationships formed? Would you say that maybe it's different from how most college students experience it?

Lauren Kelley 

Your priorities might be different. Also with how I'm structured as a human being like and doing that identity shift from high school and like, I was trying to prove myself when I stepped on this campus, especially with that full tuition scholarship, I was like, I don't- I'm still waiting to meet these people who gave me this I'm like, why? But I'm- it's finding that self confidence and self esteem to reach out to people. And my senior year, surprisingly, is actually the year that I've been making most of those connections, because, like with the Office of ASPIRE, if for people who don't know this office, bear with me as I state this acronym, but it's advancing strategies, partnerships, institutional relationships and economy and this office does so many amazing things. That's why the acronym is so big. But I feel like I finally found my place through this office, because there's so many kind people who are wanting to be civically engaged working on campus, not just helping them, you know, ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú community, but also the Butler County region and the outside community beyond this university. So I feel like I'm making a lot of great connections there. Finally, it's been a while, because I'm also a workaholic. When you are trying to prove yourself, you become that. So that is now my label, that I hold forever, probably, but yeah, like I've done with, you know, when you are working to study abroad, relationships, finances are first. Then it comes social and I, you know, balancing that was really hard for me. Junior year was chaotic because I was able to study abroad. I made a lot of great relationships there. Downside, they're not ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú students, usually. You've got to come back, sadly. And then, you know, senior year I've, I feel like I'm finally finding that so just reaching out and looking into opportunities on campus. And even though, after your classes you just want to take a big fat nap and go back home, you push through it and you're like, you know what? I'm gonna stay for that meeting that's held at 7pm.

Maggie 

Would you like to talk more about kind of what you do in the office of ASPIRE, how it's shaped you as a college student, and kind of how you're planning on using what you've learned there past college, maybe in a future career.

Lauren Kelley 

So I actually got introduced to the office- well, first it was through my roommate in the Inside Washington program. She was like, "hey, this is a thing, and they're actually here in DC." I was like, "oh, that's cool." Later on my sophomore year, she actually nominated me to go to the Alternative Spring Break Conference, which is where they take students basically for free, to Washington, DC, on Capitol Hill, to advocate for higher education. That was an incredible experience. And then during that trip, you also go to the State House in Columbus. So even if you're not involved in politics and you just are very passionate about your experiences that you've had on ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú's campus, and you want to be like, Yeah, I received the Pell Grant during this time that I really needed it. Like, that's a great way to just communicate and network to people in those offices and look at DC, experience those cherry blossoms, because they're gorgeous, but so that's how I was involved. And then obviously sophomore year was really challenging for me to be involved more long term in that program, because I was trying to afford study abroad, so I had to prioritize working. But now I actually found employment through the office, and I will be more doing. I recently did bookings for the State House. So like calling up Congressional offices and being like, "hey, can you meet with us?" And just being that scheduler for the State House Day, which was amazing, and it recently happened, and that was a success. So that was awesome. And then more recently, like today, I'll be pitching, along with the Chief of Staff, a campaign proposal to advance their communications. So like talking about what the office does through social media platforms, and I'll mostly be probably like doing interviews on behalf of the office, which I'm really excited about, because I love interviewing people. So I'll be mostly doing that with the office. Yeah.

Maggie 

That sounds very impressive.

Lauren Kelley 

Thank you. And recently, I was able to go to the DNC on a non partisan educational opportunity. They also offered the RNC just couldn't fit in my schedule, but both of those experiences were offered to students this summer on behalf of the Office of ASPIRE and the Menard Center. Highly recommend, you know, looking for more opportunities on behalf of both of those organizations. So, yeah, it was an incredible experience, and I can't believe I was able to witness that historic moment. But yeah, it was crazy.

Maggie 

Well, everything, from you know, all of your majors, your minors, your involvement in the office of ASPIRE, all these opportunities that you've had. You know, on campus, off campus, abroad, overall as a now senior, how have you seen yourself change or grow the most during your time at college?

Lauren Kelley 

Self esteem has grown exponentially, because when I stepped in, I was- even though I was very much a go getter and I wanted to try everything, as usually, every freshman does and gets overwhelmed pretty quickly, I was very much an introvert. Still am, but figuring out how to place yourself in a position where you can try and new things on campus and just reach out to professors, even if that's a cold email, just be like, "hey, I wanted to talk to you about this opportunity." That's how I did with the Office of ASPIRE. During the summer, I just reached out to Nicole Hoyer, who she's the Director of State Relations for the office, and she was so kind. She was amazing. She allowed me to, like, be on a tour with a Congressional representative, and, like, through ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú University, and that was crazy. Just through emailing her, she gave me that experience. So yeah, like, that's how I've grown. It's just gaining confidence, time management skills, overall, I'm finding more of what I want to do in a career still kind of vague, but--

Maggie 

And that is perfectly fine.

Lauren Kelley 

Exactly. Because the moment you graduate, it doesn't have to be a perfect job that you get. It's not one and done like you're you're probably going to find a lot of different other paths to what you ultimately want to do.

Maggie 

Lauren Kelly is a Strategic Communication and Individualized Studies major studying International Technology Policy. After graduation, she plans to continue storytelling in any way she can to inspire and to uplift others. Thank you again for listening to this episode of Major Insight, many more episodes are always available wherever you get your podcasts.