Emily Shpiece: Personal Experience

Starting college as a Freshman is exciting; it is also unnerving. The comfort of everything I know is going to disappear and it will be time to grow up and face reality. However, reality isn’t doomed to be negative if I prepare for my future and

The transition from high school to college is a dynamic time in one’s life that parallels the change from childhood to adulthood. Both of these changes are dramatic and, as a result, feelings are difficult to put down into words. A messy combination of emotions fills the heart, surfacing in strange ways. Confident high school seniors go right back to the bottom of the chain when entering college as freshmen. These students start all over, just like entering grade school or high school for the first time. The move up from high school to college signals the switch from dependence to self-sufficiency. From a personal point of view, going through the experience of graduating high school and transferring to a residential college campus at STLCOP, made me realize I was no longer a kid and capable of making my own decisions.

A lot has changed since freshman year. I moved to Oak Ridge, so my father and I could be with the family. I switched to Oak Ridge High School and struggled tremendously, but most importantly, I made friends that needed me. Although my trust issues are still very much a problem for me, I’ve learned to cope with them by surrounding myself with people that I love. My heart continues to swell every time I

Mackenzie: Do you have any advice for other students who plan on pursuing a career in the performing arts?

Hello, I’m Yoseline and attending New Jersey City University will be one of the biggest accomplishments of my life. Up until recently I had decided to attend this college. I had a really hard time deciding what college I wanted to commit to. Mainly because I didn't think my high school years would go by so quick. I was so lenient and thought I had all time in the world but in reality, I didn’t. It hit me like a truck on how soon I’m going to graduate. I never been so enthusiastic about leaving high school and get on the road to my future.

Embedded in my psyche as a child was the fact that college was my only option after high school. This parental sentiment was synonymous with a phrase as simple as “tie your shoes.” For me, high school graduation would be a standard occurrence, but my college graduation would be celebrated. The college I would attend required thoughtful consideration because it will be my rite of passage. When I dreamt of my intended college, I knew it would be set in a beautiful city, bustling with energy, and full of consciously creative people. I didn’t know if my university campus would be urban or suburban, but I knew it would spark excitement, fulfill my need to connect with a global community, and offer several opportunities to propel me to the top of

Returning to college has been a prodigious challenge. One in which I determined I would meet head on with resolution. As a fine arts student I was fortunate to find a mentor in the Paradise Valley Community College Theater Director, Andrea Robertson. Andrea perceived potential in me and encouraged pursuit my goals as a writer/director. I took the initiative to approach Andrea with the idea to write and direct my own play in the Advanced Directing course. This past fall that idea came into fruition. As a director I oversaw numerous different areas in the production of my play. These were roles filled by fellow students, allowing the opportunity to provide guidance and leadership to peers. I worked with actors, stage management, set design, prop

“Education is the foundation upon which we build our future.” This quote was said by Christine Gregoire, and never were truer words ever spoken. It is my personal belief that the education I can receive at Montclair State University can be the starting point to which my career in the arts can prosper. I have heard many people, from alumni to friends of alumni, talk in high regards about the theatrical program at MSU. Some say that it was the best training they ever received, and others say that their friends who went to MSU were able to be consistent working actors due to their training. It is my ultimate goal to take advantage of the amazing resources at MSU if I’m able to make it in the Music Theatre program. I

When I first moved in and classes started, I didn’t notice that anything was different. It wasn’t until December, when I went home for the first time in more than three months, that I realized just how much Michigan had changed me. The change was gradual, but I am no longer the rigid and shy person that I used to be.

We can all recall that time between graduating high school and beginning our freshman year of college. For many people, myself included, going to college meant a chance to finally escape that small town that we called home. The summer began to come to a close, and we could hardly contain our excitement to finally start our new adventure. College began, classes and homework took over our lives, and we made new friends and experienced many memories with them. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, right? While most of my newfound classmates opted to go back to their home towns for the summer, I've decided to stay in my cozy college town, much to my parents disdain. It is wonderful, yet bittersweet to not have to go back to that boring

Ever since I was a little girl my parents have been saving and preparing themselves for the day they send me off to college. I have a long line of family members that graduated from Southern University. I knew for a fact that Southern was going to be the school of my choice. August 22, 2012 was the first day of my freshman year in high school. Once I entered high school the only thing I could think about my graduation and my matriculation at Southern. I couldn’t think of anything more stressful than transitioning from high school to college. When I was in middle school a lot of people told me about high school and how it was hard. The things they told me made me think going to high school would be a huge step, well it has nothing on college. No more depending on people, I have to get it on my own. Now that I am in college, I will be faced with many challenges that I will have to make the right choice about on my own.

I get to direct sophomores, juniors and seniors in high school in a school environment and I love what I do. I am passionate about the art of acting theatre. My passion started in high school. I chose to continue in higher education and I strive to share that passion with my students and get them excited about the arts. My theatre experience in college was very much a constructivist environment, especially when it came to acting. Different instructional models and theories also came into play in throughout my time there, but it all lead to what theatre truly is and that is collaboration. Us students worked together with our professors/directors as facilitators to build our knowledge of theatre. Directors have a vision and they look for their actors and designers to make a decisions for themselves to help achieve that vision and make it come to life on stage. As Piaget said “Learners don’t have knowledge forced on them - they create it for

For many, after graduating high school the next big step is college. I never asked myself why or if I even wanted to. Yet, since I was not yet ready to join the work force, and didn’t want to disappoint my parents, I simply followed the path that I was supposed to take. For a while I had no direction, but through the loss of my high school English teacher and my dream of making my family proud, I discovered that college was the place I wanted and needed to be.

As a result of moving to a new town, making new friends, and living a different life style I have been shaped in to the person I am today. I wouldn’t have asked for any better way to grow up as a kid. I’ve learned so much about myself that I probably wouldn’t have if I still lived in Apple Valley. I’ve experienced new activities, such as hunting and hiking, and have made new friendships. I feel as if I have changed for the better and grew up into a great person. I believe that this all happened for a reason and I am so happy that I’ve been able to

It was 2016, and I was finally a senior in high school. Being a senior in high school was something that I had dreamed of since my early middle school days, and at last, I was there. It was the last year in one of my least favorite environments, and I couldn’t wait to graduate and move away from the only place I had ever known. I had lived in the same town for seventeen years, and I had gone to the same school with the same people for thirteen years. I was looking forward to something new in my life. I was most excited for my senior year because it was the year that I was going to choose where I wanted to move away to and what school I wanted to spend the next four years of my life at. As the year moved along, I slowly realized that I wasn’t moving away and that I’d be staying home to attend college, which was one of the most difficult decisions that I ever had to make.