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The Beginning
Hi, I'm Jason. The journey I'm going to tell you about starts with trying to find a place to be after high school. When I was a senior in high school, I felt like there were a million open doors in front of me and I was clueless as to which path I should take. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, which was terrible when I was faced with a decision that affects the rest of my life. I had to make a choice, either to go to college or stay home, work, and attend community classes. I chose college. I wanted to go out, explore, be on my own, and meet new people so I could immerse myself in the college experience. I don't regret it; my journey thus far has been a blast, but it took a while for me to get momentum
That sense of a million open doors caused me a lot of stress, and I believed that applying to a decent amount of colleges would close off a lot of opportunities. That was exactly what I wanted, a narrowed path for me to take. I ended up applying to five colleges, hoping I would be rejected by two or three of them so that my path was even narrower. That idea didn't go so well. All five colleges accepted me and seemed like worthwhile options to explore. Luckily, money played a large role in deciding which path I had to take. State schools became the best option, and I had to choose between SUNY Geneseo and SUNY Potsdam. I went with Potsdam.
Potsdam had the most incentive because, on top of scholarships, I was offered work study. Work study is a form of financial aid that gives me an opportunity to work on campus and get money in my pocket. It also was a better choice than Geneseo because my older brother attends Geneseo, and there tends to not be enough room for the two of us no matter where we are. Potsdam also has the Crane School Of Music, which intrigued me because of my history of playing saxophone and singing. There were a lot of upsides to Potsdam and I thought it would be a fun college to explore.
Eventually the time came where I had to get dropped off and say goodbye to my parents. It wasn't too hard for either of us, seeing as how I was so focused on getting involved and my parents had sent off my three older siblings in years past. I was the last one to leave the nest, but I'd be back soon enough for breaks here and there. I've always been adaptable too, so there wasn't anything I saw fit to worry about being 170 miles away from home.
I'm glad I wasn't worried. It definitely paid off and I'm beyond happy with my college experience thus far. However, as inexpensive as Potsdam is, in comparison to other schools, it's not free. Eventually, I'm going to need to narrow down my choices and choose a career to pay off loans and start a new life as an adult.
With my blatant lack of a major or potential career, I chose to take a class entitled "Major and Career Exploration". It turned out to be one of the best decision I've made at Potsdam. It taught me a lot about myself, what I'm good at, what I need to improve on, what I'm capable, and where I can go with what stands before me. It gave me a phenomenal idea of what is realistically achievable and gave me insight into what I want to do, not just what I could do. So many of those millions of doors closed because of that course and it let me take a step through some of the door right in front of me.
The professor that taught the course always seemed intrigued by my skills, interests, and personality. One day, he subtly mentioned he was looking for someone to fill a work study position in his office, as if to intentionally pique my interest and mine alone. It did. I asked him about it, we set up a time, I was interview, and hired on the spot. I had become the Marketing Assistant for the Lougheed Center for Applied Learning.
That's where this blog comes in. Part of my job is to spread the news and programs that are available to students, and in order for those of you reading this blog to fully understand what you're reading, you need to know part of my story and what led me to where I am today.
I'm a college student, named Jason, trying to figure out my place in the world without succumbing to student debt. I work for the Lougheed Center for Applied Learning, with the goal to spread what's available to students everywhere I can.
Here's to hoping, and thanks for reading.