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 Miami University.

Student

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

Student 

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.

Student

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

Student

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

Michaela  

Over the past year, students from all across campus have shared honest stories about what it's really like to grow through college-the highs, the lows, the triumphs and challenges, and everything in between. So, in part two of this special summer series called "Advice for My First Year Self, we're bringing together some of the most meaningful insights-all those moments that reflect what it means to take chances, face uncertainty, and to find a place and purpose, and even yourself along the way.

Danny  

I'm Danny Martin. I'm the president of the student body. I'm also a brother of Phi Kapital Social Fraternity on campus. Yeah, I'm a diplomacy and global politics and history double major with a Spanish minor, and yeah, I'm excited to be part of the podcast and talk it out.

Michaela  

What advice would you give to either like a prospective student or a freshman or someone who's looking into college, being where you are now as a senior and all of your experiences? What's kind of like some insight that you would have for someone coming in?

Danny  

That's a great question. Actually, it's that's a really great question, and I've kind of been asking myself that question a lot too. Because it's like, what would I tell myself if I was an incoming freshman? I think say yes to things. Be unafraid not only to go out and just do things, but be unafraid to just be yourself. And that sounds so cheesy, like

Michaela  

no, not at all. Just like be

Danny  

yourself or whatever. But it's like it's like you're in college. You can be whoever that self is. Like if you were, I don't know, like the mathlete champion in high school, but you don't want that to be your identity here in college. It doesn't have to be. 

Michaela  

Reinvent yourself.

Danny  

You could be exactly. You can do literally anything you want, but like make sure it's a in a genuine way. Like, don't reinvent yourself because like you hate who you are. Like, reinvent yourself because you love who you are, and you're finding new niches, and you're finding new people, and you're getting new ideas. And I think that's what college is all about. And I think it's definitely about just like who are you as a person, and how can you expand on that? How can you reach more people that are both in that state of mind, but also not in that state of mind, or in that camp and not in that camp. Like, broaden who you are and be unafraid to say yes to things because you never know what that yes is going to lead to. You never know who you're going to meet. You never know what's going to happen. Like, if I hadn't said yes to coming to Miami, I would have never said yes to being my fraternity. I never would have said yes to going abroad. I never would have said yes to meeting my best friends in the whole wide world that are going to be in my wedding. I wouldn't even have said yes to being in student government. I wouldn't have said yes to running for student body president. Like, I feel like just coming to Miami and being unafraid throughout every single season that has come out of it to just be who I am, and and it's changed. Who I am now is not who I was as freshman year, and and 

Michaela  

thank God, not you, not you. 

Danny  

No, but really, 

Michaela  

for myself. 

Danny  

No, thank, and I feel like that's a universal experience. 

Michaela  

Absolutely, 

Danny  

everyone is gonna look back, 

Michaela  

grow so much, 

Danny  

right? And you're just gonna be like, why did I do that? 

Michaela  

Like my Snapchat memories come up. I'm like same. 

Danny  

I'm like I just gotta kind of three years ago the other day, and I was like freaking out over like literally nothing. And I was like, why was I doing? 

Michaela  

It gets so much harder. 

Danny  

No, right? It's like and you know actually I warranted like

Michaela  

me and my roommate started crying because we missed our 10:05 freshman year. Both of us slept through it. Literally the first class we ever missed, and it was like November. I'm like, baby, it's okay. Like, yeah. And I think it's so funny. Like now looking back too, it's like everything works out, but you you don't know that as a freshman, and like that's the scary part. And so I think it is reassuring to people that like know that it will work out. And like as long as you, we talk a lot on this podcast about like these are four years when you can literally do anything, be anything, be a part of everything. Like maximize all of your potential, and so like using all, yeah, like just all this time you have to literally just be like a student and like just be a person on a campus is so cool because like that's the only time you're gonna be able to do that. Like,

Danny  

and you know, I think it also helps too because a lot of people right now, like especially like for us, like applying to jobs and stuff, and like going to the post grad life or like law school or grad school or whatever, and I think what's great is like being able to just look that and have that retrospective and be like, wait, it worked out then, and we were shaking in our boots. Right, it's gonna work out now. Agreed. Just put yourself out there, same idea, same concept. Put yourself out there. Try your best. Put your best foot forward, and what will come will come, right? And we have that saying in Spanish, like "Lo que sera sera, right? What will be will be, and so like it's just that whole idea of like trust it, trust the process, because you did it once, and look where you are now. You're doing amazing. You're doing such great work. 

Michaela  

That exam you thought you weren't gonna pass, or like whatever it is. And even if you

Danny  

didn't pass, it's in the past. Like 

Michaela  

I always think I'm like, when's the last time I thought about that bad grade I got on a paper second semester? 

Danny  

Never, never. As long as you're not like horrendously failing,

Michaela  

like don't take this as us condoning not stunning. Right, right. However, things happen. Yeah, things happen, and like you will get through it. And I think yeah, that's very reassuring to. Here, I feel like as a freshman coming from seniors, like it's all going to work out.

Danny  

Yeah, I definitely agree.

Michaela  

Yeah.

Eva Goorskey  

 Hi, my name is Eva Gorski. I'm a chemical engineering major, and I'm a junior.

Michaela  

What do you think? Like your biggest challenge has been thus far, not even just with your major, but college in general. What has kind of been something that you've had to get through, manage well?

Eva Goorskey  

I think as an engineering major, it's really easy to feel like you don't know what's going on. It's really easy to feel defeated when you're doing homework or when you're in class because it's just sometimes it's just hard, and sometimes you know you need to put a lot of effort into it to be able to understand things, and I've definitely felt in class like that I was incompetent or unable to understand something. But the thing is, like everyone feels that way, and everyone is trying their best. And I think that maybe this sounds generic, but believing in yourself and believing that you can figure out the solution to a problem has been such a big like theme I would say of my college career so far because I think that's the main theme of engineering really is like having the aptitude to figure things out while knowing that the problem you're trying to solve has so many different variables, and like such a big scope. I guess,

Michaela  

yeah, like knowing you're capable. I feel like that's such a lesson in life in general too. Like a lot of the times, even in some of my classes, I would look around and be like, "Oh, those people are definitely smarter than me, or they could figure this out faster. Like they, and it's real. It's like that's not true. Like you, you really do. Like you have to believe in yourself, and like that imposter syndrome really does creep in, especially when you do get to the harder classes. You're like, am I meant to be here? Is this a room I should be in right now? And I think, especially, I'm sure with engineering, that was probably a bit of a struggle.

Eva Goorskey  

Yeah, yeah. I just think that it's important to realize that we're all in the same boat,

Michaela  

right?

Eva Goorskey  

And also, I think on the topic of intelligence, I really believe that it can't fully be quantified. Like, it's just everyone is smart, and everyone has like their different avenues of intelligence, and therefore, like we need everyone in engineering because they have so many different talents and so many different perspectives.

Michaela  

Yeah, absolutely. Do you have any sort of piece of advice, maybe for your freshman yourself, or maybe a freshman who is listening? Something you would tell little Eva?

Eva Goorskey  

Just be more confident. You know, like you can do it. You can be an engineer. You don't need to be doubting it. I think I came in with the attitude of like I need to be good at this. I'm like not comfortable with not being good at anything. Like I need to be good at this. But the more that I'm learning and the more that I'm like in college, I realize like you have to accept that you're not you don't know everything,

Michaela  

right?

Eva Goorskey  

Right. And it's okay to make a mistake, and it's okay to do bad on something. I think I just was a perfectionist for a while, but that's definitely kind of changed a little bit over the past couple of years.

Michaela  

Yeah, and after all, we are in college to learn. Like you know, it's such a learning curve in every sense of that phrase. Like in academics, it is in making friends. It is like socially. It is just trying to build like a life for yourself here. Like it's very you learn so much in these four years that I think it's important not to be too hard on yourself, like you said, because similar to you, I know what you mean. Like you're like, I need to be good at this. Like yeah, 

Eva Goorskey  

I think I just didn't want anyone to like point fingers and be like, oh, she's bad at this, you know. Yeah. But I think that that's just an internal thing. No one's actually going to be doing that.

Michaela  

It's true though, and everyone is a little bit too worried about themselves to realize. You know what I mean? Like no one's gonna be like, ha ha ha, you can't do anything. Yeah. It is more so like an internal thing.

Eva Goorskey  

Also, in like any major, I think you're never gonna get through it alone. No, there's no way. Like, I can't tell you how many times I've gone to a friend and be like, "How did you do this assignment? Absolutely, or to a professor, and that's that's just so important. Yeah, and asking, but I think it's so strong. Yeah, like it

Michaela  

just means you want to learn more and like you want to become more well versed on the topic. I've asked for help every single class I'm in, I'm like, wait, what does this mean? Sorry, I'm a little bit confused, but like that's how you get better at something. That's how you become knowledgeable on a subject. And I think, yeah, it's important that you said that because like, yeah, you can't get through college without having a little community of people.

Carson  

My name is Carson Ebrecht. I'm a junior psychology premed. You can do a lot of things on campus, and like maybe that like might not work out. Like I did a lot of things freshman year. 

Michaela  

Yeah,  I was just about to ask that. What are kind of some maybe challenges you face this?

Carson  

So I think like the challenges I faced is like I wanted to be involved. Like I knew I wanted to be involved. Like how do you be involved, right? Because like I'm a freshman. Like I don't have that much experience on campus. So I would go and I would do. Things to like try getting that experience, and like I got rejected so many times by so many things. But like I like I still like kept at it, I kept being true who I was, and wanting more out of just my college experience, right?

Michaela  

Yeah, and I feel I always talk about that the importance of maximizing your college potential because there is so much you can be doing, and obviously you don't want to go to the point of burnout, but there's so much that we could be involved in that we could be attending. Like I feel like I I don't even take advantage of everything that our college has to offer. I think it's so important to do that, so that even like probably some of your rejections, so you say, probably helped shape you kind of into who you are today.

Carson  

And like for me, like when I would get like rejected by certain things, like it just like freed me up to do other things. Right. So I just like filled that space up. So it's been great so far. Like I wouldn't change my path because I feel like it just like was that natural progression for me of like I'm at where I'm at now, but like I needed freshman sophomore year to be where I'm at now and to know how to like go about it, like know how to prioritize things, what to say no to right now. Yeah, it's been a struggle for me to say no recently because I just want to do everything.

Michaela  

And what a great perspective because you said like if something's not working out, something else will, and that kind of just frees up your time. And I feel like it goes back to that common saying that's like rejection is redirection, which I think is so important to remember in college. Like, even if you don't get an opportunity or an internship or a position, like something else will come your way that is meant for you. Oh, definitely. Yeah. If you had one piece of advice to give your freshman yourself, what would it be?

Carson  

I think just like let the progression happen. Like, be open to that progression. Like, it's not always they go your way.

Michaela  

Yeah,

Carson  

I think a lot of people come into college thinking a certain way about it, and like that's not always the case, and that's okay, right? Like it takes a little bit to find who you want to be with, being able to navigate that and being able to like be present with that. It's just something that you just need to like go through and like yes, there's times when like you should get support and you should seek support because maybe it's come to the point where like you need that, but I think like just being along for the ride is something that is important.

Michaela  

Yeah, and I feel like something important you said too is we all have these ideas of college, but you kind of have to denounce that preconceived notion. Yeah, nothing is going to be as it seems. Yes, some things might align with what you have been picturing, but all in all, your experience is going to be so unique to yourself, and so you kind of, like you said, just have to let it progress.

Carson  

And like things take time, right? And so knowing that things take time.

Michaela  

Yeah, things take time, and it takes it'll take a little bit to acclimate to the college experience.

Carson  

Definitely.

Gianna  

I am Gianna Coleridge. I am a senior media and communications major. I don't know. I was really just nervous about everything coming into college. Like I think about the few weeks before, you know, my freshman year, and just being like, "Oh my God, am I going to be able to make friends? Am I picking the right school? Am I picking the right major? You know, just all of it, and it's hard to say like how that got solved or like how those nerves went away because it just happened. Like everything sort of started to just fall into place. I don't know. It's just kind of like you get here and all of a sudden you make friends with the people in your dorm, or like you start to get involved and you start to take classes, and it's like everything starts to be okay, and you're not super worried about it anymore. So

Michaela  

I know I feel like it becomes more of a subconscious thing that you realize, like you're not always consciously trying to make friends or trying to get involved, but it kind of just happens once you're willing to put yourself out there.

Gianna  

Exactly.

Michaela  

What kind of was the transition into your major? Because I know you've been saying that you started off wanting to go into musical theater. I'm just kind of curious how that process was like and how you decided in college that you're going to abandon that part a little bit.

Gianna  

Yes. So I, like I said, I was a theater major my freshman year, and my mom was like, "You have to have another major pick something. And I went through like teaching. I went through fashion. I went through like I was just throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what stuck. And I don't know. I remember browsing the website, like the Miami website, because I was like, "Nothing is really working. Like I just don't like this. Like it's not whatever. And then I found media and communications, and I was like, you know, like this is what I want to do. Like I love, like, and at the time I was like, oh, I could be a social media manager on the side while I work on my acting. Like, I don't know. It's just like like a lot of people do that, actors do that on the side, and I was just like, oh, I could do that, whatever. But I was thinking about it, then I was like, wow! I've always kind of wanted to work in communications if I didn't know it. Like, I don't know. It's hard to describe. I've always wanted a communications career, but I didn't know what communications was. You know, if that makes sense. Well, because it's

Michaela  

also like there's such a wide breadth exactly communications. Like, what does that mean? I think you can go so many. Different routes, and I think that's kind of daunting as a freshman too, because you're like, what?

Gianna  

Right.

Michaela  

What is communication?

Gianna  

Yes, exactly. So I actually picked up that major my sophomore year, and then I ended up dropping theater just because it was a lot of time. I remember that year I had just joined Caio, and I was missing out on a lot of like big events, and I remember just thinking to myself like, I'm so upset. I'm missing out on all of the time that I could be spending with these new friends, with these people that I like to be in this black box theater, feeling self conscious, and I'm so upset. Like that's how it felt.

Michaela  

No, but I feel like that's so true, and like sometimes you're just truly burnt out. Exactly. That's like I grew up dancing, and so like that was my parents were always like, "You're not going to do anything with dance in college, like whatever. But by the end of my senior year, I was like, "I loved it, I lived it, I breathed it. But like, I think I'm ready to let it go for right now. Like I kind of want to spread my wings and like go to experience college and not have to be at dance rehearsals all the time or like worried about that aspect of my life, so I feel like I totally relate. What's kind of your niche in communications now?

Gianna  

Um, so the last few years I've worked in PR.

Michaela  

Okay.

Gianna  

Um, I opened my own photo studio this year. I do a lot of different things. I've struggled with this a lot, especially this last semester, where it's like I feel like I am good at a lot of things, but I'm not like great at one thing, and that's been something I've really been angry with myself at. But I feel like I'm going to start embracing it, and I'm just like you're gonna see my Instagram in five years, and it's gonna be like, oh, I shot that wedding, and oh, I'm in this project, and oh, like, is she working in corporate now? And also, why is she in Japan? And also, like, what what are you doing? You know, like that's kind of what I just want to do.

Michaela  

I love that jack of all trades. 

Gianna  

Yeah, exactly. 

Michaela  

Like life, we just had a conversation in one of my classes, and it got like kind of deep and existential. And we were saying that like life is so short to not take advantage of all those opportunities. Like even I just accepted a job offer, which is like really exciting. But it's scary that you're like then confined to that goal, and like that's not who I am. I feel like a lot of people who've probably grown up in the arts or whatever it is kind of have like yearn for a little bit more, and that's kind of like a crossroads that I'm at too. Where it's like I want to do everything, but you also have to do something. 

Michaela  

So this is major insight, and who am I here with today?

Katie  

It's Katie once again. Once again, we're back.

Michaela  

A familiar voice. What do you think is your biggest thing you've learned about yourself? And a more like future forward question. What do you think? Like you've learned. What are you gonna miss? And kind of what are you doing after this? If you want to explain to peeps what your job is.

Katie  

Yeah, the biggest thing that I learned about myself, I think, was just to not be so afraid of things. But I came into college with so much anxiety and so much fear of like doing anything that I knew might challenge me, or like I might fail at doing, or like something's gonna go wrong. Like that scared the crap out of me as a freshman, and when I came in, I was like, "That's why I wanted to be on that path so bad. Was because I'm like, I know I can do this. I know I can do good at this. And if I do anything else, I'm not gonna know, and that's gonna scare me. And I am just proud that I've like let myself try, and I've let myself do other things, and I've let myself just like learn from failure because I definitely have had plenty now, and I was so scared for it to happen that I just finally was like, okay, well, nothing I do is gonna kill me. Nothing I do is gonna make everyone hate me. Like just that anxiety that everybody has, I think, going into freshman year of like you're never gonna make friends, you're never gonna find community. The moment I realized that wasn't real, and the moment that I like forced myself to realize that wasn't real, I feel like I really let myself try things that I wanted to try, which kind of is part of this whole job that I got. So, I for the next year will be working at my sorority's headquarters. So I'm a leadership development consultant. I'm a traveling leadership development consultant, which is the craziest thing. If you know anyone that knows me from high school, or like anyone from my hometown, they looked at me like I had four heads when I said I was going to travel, because I was the kid who would like cry on a plane because I thought it was going to go down every five seconds. Like that was the kind of anxiety I had, and I did not do well with change. I did not do well with like being in new places, and when I knew this job was an option, and when I really decided, like I think I'm gonna go for it, I kept telling myself, well, if they give you the traveling one, suck it up, figure it out, because now you got to do it, and that was kind of the mindset I went into it with, whether that's good or bad. It's great, but I just told myself, like, well, if you get the job, you can't back out. So that was kind of I forced myself to do it, and now I'm here and I have it, and

Michaela  

yeah,

Katie  

I feel like I've learned enough in college where I can go into it now, and whatever happens, happens, and I'm gonna be okay.

Michaela  

Definitely, I'm so happy for you. I think you're gonna kill it. Katie's the perfect person for the room, truly though, and I think like this is so up your alley, and I know that you're qualified. Those headquarters people know what they're talking about, and you. I definitely know that too. I'm so pumped for you, and I think it's like the perfect pipeline for you. 

Katie  

I'm really excited.

Michaela  

Yeah.

Katie  

How are you feeling about?

Michaela  

Oh,

Katie  

just the sigh. How are you feeling about what's coming next? And

Michaela  

I'm feeling hopeful. I'm feeling uncertain, and I do hope that I don't know. I don't. I hope it takes me somewhere. I have no clue where it's going, and similar to freshman year of college, I hope I have no clue where I will be in four years. Like that is low key the goal. I hope it totally surprises me, and I hope I keep taking risks and like making interesting decisions that I didn't think I would make. So yeah, I don't know. I'm feeling I'm feeling excited though. I think it'll be good, and like the dreading it doesn't do much good. So I'm trying to flip my mindset into Katie's mindset

Katie  

because

Michaela  

it really is-it's so exciting, and like our lives are really just beginning. Yeah, I think there's a lot of emphasis on like the doom and gloom, and like college is over, and our lives are over, and the best four years of our lives are over, and it's like baby, that doesn't have to be the best four years of your life. Yeah, you can make the next four the best, or the next four, and like there's so much that we have yet to experience, and like, your 20s are awesome too. Yeah, sure, we're gonna love that. Yeah. So yeah, I don't know. Excited to see what's to come.

Katie  

Yeah.

Michaela  

We hope you enjoyed this special summer edition of Major Insight, featuring some of the most meaningful moments from this past year, because every student's story is just one moment in a much bigger college experience. There's always more to learn, more to discover, and more growth ahead. This fall, we'll be back with all new episodes exploring the real experiences, challenges, and moments that continue to shape college life for students on campus.