PART 1

Four years.

1, 460 days.

College is supposed to be the best time of your life. We’ve all heard this saying over and over again. It’s the mantra that college students thrive off of. Students spend countless hours and endless nights in the library, stress over the hard tests and retake classes in the name of graduating on time. They work hard, finally get their degree, and step outside of the protective bubble of college.

College presents many opportunities to learn and find what peaks interests. You pick a major and stay the course. But what happens when another avenue opens up three years into your chosen field? What if there are no jobs in your chosen market and you wish to pursue a different career after graduation? All these questions and more are risks students take as soon as they decide on a major.

Sixty percent of college students change their major according to Young Money (http://www.youngmoney.com/careers/career-advice/037_217/.) Some make that change early enough for the shift to not cause a major rift. However, if senior year rolls around and you’ve found something else that might be more up your alley, it’s time to make a decision.

There are several web chats where undergraduate students who wish to pursue something else bring up grad school. Graduate schools allow students wanting to pursue a master’s degree in a chosen field-it may have something to do with their major or something completely different. While having a degree is a requirement, according to Web Chats on College Confidential (http://talk.collegeconfidential.com), it’s more important to be well rounded and have a good GPA.

“In my cohort, there are several ‘outside major’ students, so it definitely can be done. It all comes down that you can persuade at least one professor that you’re going to be the best student that year, worth his time and effort,” said an anonymous writer on the web chat.

According to a study done on the website “Does Your Major Matter” (http://www.doesyourmajormatter.com)-out of 555 total respondents (employers), only 200 consider an undergraduate major somewhat important or higher when evaluating a job applicant.

“The overwhelming majority, however, believe that while college majors have some weight, the subject an applicant studied in college is not the deciding factor in the hiring decision,” posted Katie Konrath, writer of the article.

In deciding what the best path is, whether following the undergraduate degree, going to grad school, or choosing an entirely different job-most people look at pay scale. According to Paycale (www.payscale.com), the best jobs are in engineering.

College is the best time of your life-we’ve all heard it. It’s what you’re going to do with that degree you spend the ‘best time of your life’ getting that might cause an issue. 

PART 2 

Katie Sardelli knows a thing or two about changing your mind in college. 

The Resident Learning Coordinator of Margaret Nance at Winthrop University graduated from undergraduate school from The College of William and Mary with a degree in economics. She went to study higher education with a concentration in residence life at graduate school. She also took cooking classes.

"College is a time to grown and learn and experience different things. I don't think it's fair they ask you to pick your major so quickly. After you graduate, anything is possible. You don't have the safe world of college and people to guide you through," Sardelli said. 

Choosing a major in college is critical-you have to have a degree in something to get a job. 

Halfway through college, Sardelli decided to try being an resident assistant. She realized quickly that her passion was actually being in school and helping students get adjusted to life on campus. 

"I knew I was meant to spend extra years in college just working in one instead of being in school," Sardelli said. 

Dr. Frank Ardaiolo, vice president of student life at Winthrop University, also decided to pursue other options in graduate school. 

"i was a political science and history major for undergrad," Ardaiolo said.

"I became an RA, realized that helping out meant more to me than being a political and chose that avenue. I've been doing that every since. I was actually the current president's first hire at Winthrop. I couldn't be happier helping students."

Sometimes students think it's too late to change their major. Senior year rolls around and all the sudden it's graduation time. 

Graduate schools offer students the opportunity to chase other passions. It allows students to have a concetration in something other than an undergraduate degree. 

There are so many options available to students while on college-- so many majors to choose from and so many decisions to make. If while choosing a major a class catches attention, Ardaiolo has some advice. 

"Take lots of different classes your freshman and sophomore year. Find what you love."

PART 3

          Being a guidance counselor just seemed like the right career for Amanda McLeod. A senior at Winthrop University, 21-year-old McLeod had always thought she’d be a counselor.

          “It’s what I’d seen my sister study at college, and it just seemed like something I wanted to do as well,” McLeod said.

          Now, as a senior, she has changed her mind and decided she wants to pursue something else.

“City Year is a program that allows me to follow my passion of helping others, as well as get a feel for teaching and counseling, so I can see if that’s the route I want to take.”

McLeod came to Winthrop a shy and somewhat reserved woman from Hartsville, S.C. Through college, she’s explored a bunch of different avenues, including studying abroad in Dublin, Ireland.

“Getting the chance to study abroad really changed my perspective and opened up a lot of opportunities. I’ve considered going to grad school in Ireland, and although it might never happen it’s fun to think about,” McLeod said.

As a senior, however, McLeod is now struck by a slight fear.

“If City Year doesn’t work out, I honestly don’t know what I’ll do for a living. I know I don’t want to spend a lifetime doing something I don’t like. I’m really hoping City Year pans out-I’d love to do that for a year.”

McLeod has taken a lot of different classes during her time at Winthrop, which has also broadened her horizons.

“I don’t like that they basically ask you to pick your major the minute you get in the door. A part of me feels like I’ve wasted three and a half years because all the sudden I’m changing my mind. I’m also interested in photography, a class I’ve taken. I’ve considered social work, which is my minor. It’s just tough to nail down a decision when they ask you to be well rounded while picking a major.”

Most seniors face the fear of not having a job in this economy where the unemployment rate is still so high. Winthrop is more known for its education department. Teaching positions have significantly declined and schools now are looking for people with experience, not just graduates with a degree. McLeod knows the dangers she faces.

“Teaching is risky, I get it. I don’t know why I’m finding it so fascinating, because I know the risks involved. That’s what City Year is,  though. It allows me to volunteer and help out in a high needs area for a year and get a feel for it, and make a little bit more of a firm decision after trying it.”

McLeod has also done some volunteer work this semester at school to make her decision a little clearer.

“Volunteering has mostly taught me that I don’t want to work with young kids. It’s also taught me, however, that I really do have a passion for helping people and children and somehow making their lives a little better. I’ve learned that through a lot of my experiences and a lot of my time at school.”

          While the future looks scary, McLeod also knows that she’s been really blessed to have the opportunities she has.

“Studying abroad and going to a school where I can honestly be myself and I can make my own decisions and figure it out is the best thing. Yes, I’m scared about what’s to come, but I also know that no matter what I’m going to be okay because I’ve learned a lot and I’ve learned to take care of myself.” 

 

Maribea's Video

          

   
   
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    Maribea's Podcast 

It's My Life

I'm a senior in college. And I've changed my mind about what I wanted to do with my life. Bad timing huh? At least I'm not alone-a lot of people go through times when they question if they want to do what they signed up to do. Several of my friends have said they are in the same position.

College is a time to grow and learn. You try new things and get to experience so much that it's a wonder more people don't change their major. I was lucky enough to realize that what I want to do is still an option. My friends Amanda McLeod and Amber Hiott are just two people who are in the same boat as me. Amanda is a psychology major who wants to teach (or something, she says she still doesn't have an exact plan.) Amber is a psychology major who has decided to go to graduate school for student affairs-a huge leap from psychology.

A video about the two of them is below. Don't worry if you also change your major in college-the cool thing is you get to experience so much. Enjoy it and don't freak out when you realize you want to do something else.

Amanda McLeod and Amber Hiott

Slideshow

This slideshow exmplifies what two people (Amanda McLeod and Amber Hiott) do for fun and what they would like to do with the life after they graduate from Winthrop University.

What Are You Doing After College?

I am a senior in college who is not going to be doing anything with mass communication after I graduate. I started thinking about how many people actually want to do what they are doing in college. So I started thinking about this as my mulitmedia project. I interviewed two people-Amanda McLeod and Amber Hiott. Here's what I found out: http://beas.podbean.com/#

Tired, I worked on a brain all day

Derek Shepard is one of the few surgeons in the world that could save Izzie Steven's life. She has stage four melanoma that had spread to her liver and brain. Shepard, a neurosurgeon at Seattle Grace Hospital, saves her.

Okay, so maybe Grey's Anatomy is not the most facutal representation of what being a surgeon is all about. However, maybe there is some merit to the show and gives the viewers a glimpse of what life through the eyes of a brain surgeon is all about.

Neurosurgeons are all different-they all have different ideas about ways to save patients and they all have different thought patterns that lead them to believe a certain course is the best way to go. 

Best Technique

There is no such thing as a best technique. Every surgeon is going to approach things differently, according to an academic journal by Christopher R.P. Lind. Whether it is inserting a shunt into someone's brain or it's a matter of taking out a tumor, all surgeons are going to decide what is the best technique in the moment.

Different Methods 

Just like there is no technique that is preferred, there is also no method that is explicitly right. It is not a matter of being right, however, it is a matter of getting the job done. Lind gives a sheet for neurosurgeons to fill out, asking questions about how they approach certain aspects. Based off of that, he comes up with results that are the supposed best way to go about being a brain surgeon.

Making A Difference

After a thorough survey, Lind comes to the conclusion that the prefered methods are:

• frontal approach: "drilling a burr hole near the coronal suture in the mid-pupillary line and inserting a catheter into the frontal horn."
• parietal approach: "approached from a posterior burr hole in the parieto-occipital region...he avoidance of a second scalp incision for tunnelling."
• occipital approach: "place the catheter in the atrium of the lateral ventricle from a parietal burr hole...the atrium is often the most dilated part of the lateral ventricle and is potentially the last part of the chamber to collapse with subsequent cerebrospinal fluid drainage." 

Saving Lives Makes It Worth It

At the end of the day, does it really matter if one doctor decided to laser out a tumor or cut it out? Or does it matter when that patient opens their eyes and sees their family standing there, waiting for them to be okay? Neurosurgeons have a tough job-they are given unusual circumstances and are asked to basically stop people from dying. There is no right or wrong technique to that. Neurosurgeons just have to approach it the best they know how-they are the ones with the medical degree after all.  





 

Women and Men and College and Dating

" There are very few times when I find myself sitting around thinking I wish I was married.”-Lorelai 
Gilmore “The Incredible Sinking Lorelais”

            Lorelai Gilmore knew a thing or two about being on her own. The kick butt mom from the television show "Gilmore Girls" was okay raising a daughter on her own and having a great life. However, there are times when settling down would cross her mind.

            In college people find “the friends who turn into family” and are supposedly looking for Mr. or Mrs. Right the whole time. However, that’s not always what the case may be, especially when women dominating the college campus.

            According to an article in USATODAY, women currently make up 57 percent of all college students; nationally the ratio of males to females is 43/57. “Just as they might consider race or geographical diversity in building freshman classes, they similarly look for gender parity.” 

            At Winthrop, there are 1172 men and 2768 women for full-time enrollment. Looking at that, it looks as though the pickings might be slim. However, since Winthrop prides itself on diversity, maybe some have more luck than others. I’ve been trying for three years, but what can you do?

            Finding that right guy or girl can be difficult based on values and experiences and what you want out of life. Wanting to be with someone compatiable in most areas (while also having differences because really who wants to be with someone exactly like them) is normal, but can be difficult when college is all about finding you.  How do you find yourself and fall in love with someone all in one fell swoop?

            There are qualities that everyone looks for in a partner, such as love and friendship and compatibility. With there being more women on campus, and not just that but women who have a strong desire to have a career and establish themselves before settling down, it can be harder to put yourself out there and see if people have those qualities.

Marriage and Finances

Getting Married in College podcast

“Love is always patient and kind.” We’ve all heard what people promise at weddings. To love, honor, and cherish each other until death do you part. They live happily ever after.

Until your husband loses his job and you are suddenly strapped for cash as a newlywed couple trying to pay for college. Then your husband gets another job that has him in a different city. Marriage is a lot more complicated when you are struggling to pay bills and never see each other.

That is exactly what happened to Bailey Lemmon Polson. Polson met her husband Josh when she was fifteen years old. He joined the National Guard and she moved to Westminster, but their love was strong and their faith was stronger.

"I knew I was going to marry him,” Polson said. “When I say he’s my best friend and that I love him…I can’t even explain it.”

Married on May 16, 2009, their wedding was the fairy tale she had always wanted. She wore her mother’s veil and they were married in the same church as Bailey’s parents.

Two weeks after they got back from their honeymoon, Josh lost his job as a mechanic.

“It was one of those last hired, first fired thing,” Polson said with a shrug. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for South Carolina is 11.5 percent.

Polson, a senior biology major, was in a tight spot. Though Josh would be drawing money from the National Guard, they now had an apartment rent, groceries to buy and animals to take care of.

Working as the student director for the Peer Mentor program, she was bringing in a little over $100 every two weeks. Between July and September, they made roughly $500 together. Their apartment rent alone was $480.

“Thank goodness we had money in savings, but no newlyweds want to tap into that money. We were trying to save,” Polson said.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services through the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, 36 percent of couples that get married at the age of 20 get divorced or separated within 15 years.

Though he now has a permanent job in Columbia, their finances are still stretched, for the time being. Only seeing each other on weekends only complicates the situation further.

“Even if he’s just on the computer and I’m on the couch reading a book. I’d rather have that every day. But he loves his job. I would never take that away from him. So I can’t go out on weekends. But I’d rather see my husband who is gone five days a week. What’s a few months compared to a lifetime of being married?”

According to Sarah Colwell of the Colorado Spring Business Journal, 84 percent of couples say that money causes tension in their marriage and 13 percent say they fight about it several times a month.

“I was angry and confused. I thought well why us? I wasn’t sure how we were going to make it. I called my mom crying,” she said.

Tuition at Winthrop University for the fall and spring semesters in state, according to the school’s website, is $5,803 per semester. That doesn’t include books or a meal plan if you live on campus.

Polson ended up getting more financial aid and scholarships due to the fact that they had little to no income.

According to Bethany Jones, who writes for the online database Associated Content, there are certain advantages for getting married in college, even with the stress it can bring.

“…There are special grants and scholarships available for students who are married,” says Jones. Also, having that person to depend on can help you grow and change.

“While it’s true that we, as humans, are constantly changing, it’s also true that a young marriage can last years if the couple enters the relationship with the understanding that they can grow and change together,” she writes.

Dealing with the changes, such as Josh being gone for the majority of the week, is hard for Bailey.
“I go home to my two dogs and cook and take care of the apartment. But it’s hard being there by myself. So I try to stay busy,” she said.

Though times are hard in the economy, divorce rates are slowly falling. According to David Popenoe of the National Marriage Project, “the risk of divorce is far below fifty percent for educated people going into their first marriage.” Popenoe also wrote that people who find a partner with similar values, backgrounds, and lifestyle goes tend to have a more successful marriage.

With the economy in a recession, the average income per family has dropped drastically. According to the U.S. Trustee Program through the U.S. Department of Justice, the median income for a two-person household in South Carolina is $50, 823. The Polsons were nowhere near that.

“My friends call me and ask me to go out or go shopping. I can’t go out. I can’t eat out all the time. I can’t afford it,” Polson said.

Colwell has several tips for young couples to help them stay on track and worry less about money. They need to have a budget and stick to it. Devise a filing system of sort that keeps their taxes, receipt information and joint bank accounts. Also, make sure to keep your goals as individuals and as a couple in mind when you are making monetary decisions.

Sitting the her office, Polson shrugs as though she’s talking about the weather. When her cell phone rings, Bailey’s smile is instantaneous. She quickly holds up and finger and answers with a “hey, honey,” and a goofy grin. They chit chat for a minute before he tells her that he actually came home earlier than he thought, and was taking their dogs for a walk. After a quick “I love you” and “goodbye,” Bailey hangs up the phone.

“I’ve completely lost my train of thought. He came home early today. I wonder if I could leave early. I mean I’m done with my work…” She frowns as she glances at her watch. “I want to be home with him.”

Though it’s been a stress few months for them and they still have a long way to go before they are on stable ground economically, Polson does not hesitate to admit she’s happy. To her, the happily ever still exists.

“Would it have been easier if we had waited to get married? Yes. I’m just being honest; it would have been easier, looking back at it. But Do I regret getting married? Never. It probably just would have been May 16, 1210 as opposed to May 16, 2009. Not marry Josh was not an option.”