The Next Chapter: College Advice Part 2
Podcast Transcription:
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Maddy: Hi everyone, welcome to another episode of PFCU’s Money Talk Podcast, I’m your host Maddy. This is part 2 of our mini-series as we talk about advice for those that are still in high school and advice for that first year of college as well as applying for scholarships. As a reminder, the PFCU McCrumb Scholarship is currently open on our website until March 31st. If you are a high school senior or you know one, please check it out. We award 10 $1,000 scholarships every year to students not only attending a traditional 4-year university but also those going into a skilled trade.
My second guest today is Colin Pearson. Not only was Colin involved in a little bit of everything in high school but now as a freshman in college, he has landed an internship, finds time to volunteer and knows how to be successful in his classes so let’s hear what advice he has to share. Please join me in welcoming Colin.
I see you have some Michigan State swag on so…
Colin: So, I am at Michigan State. I went to Caledonia high school for reference and then I’m at Michigan State now, I’m studying civil engineering and planning to eventually go into a master’s program at Michigan State for Urban Planning and then I’m in the honor college at Michigan State as well. So, there’s a few extra opportunities available to me as part of the honors college.
Maddy: Yes, yes, that’s awesome. Good for you! You were one of the recipients of the PFCU McCrumb Scholarship. Let’s look back on that a little bit and talk about, whether it was just that scholarship or additional scholarships, what impact those had after you had graduated. How did those help you, how did you use them? And why do you think applying for scholarships is so important?
Colin: Yeah, so I did get the McCrumb scholarship and I got a few others as well. That was so huge for me because, as we all know, tuition for college is insane and then you factor in living on campus, paying for a meal plan and everything else that goes along with college. You know, the costs are just way up there for some reason right now and those scholarships just really help with making it more affordable and the whole process a lot less stressful when there’s less money involved that’s coming out of your own pocket, you know. So, that was the big thing for me, was the stress of it all. It was no longer a, well this college costs this much and there’s still that level to it, of course because no scholarship is going to cover all of it for the most part but it was a lot less, it kind of took some of the burden off of that and put it on to, okay where do I really think I will fit? Yeah, so, applying for scholarships is huge though. For me, the two reasons I did it or the reason I did it was for the financial, you know. It’s a scholarship, that’s the main reason most people do it and that’s a big, big thing because even if you don’t get it though, the self-reflection skills you get from applying to scholarships, I’ve learned have just taken me a long way. For me, I wasn’t used to self-reflecting and like, kind of talking about myself in an essay. That’s not a common skill they teach in school for the most part, you know? And so, having practice of being able to talk about myself and my achievements, my skills, my interests and why I’m a good candidate for an application, that helped me a lot to get an internship for next summer actually so, I already have one lined up in civil engineering as a freshman and I don’t think I would’ve gotten that if I didn’t grow those skills through applying for scholarships, so.
Maddy: Yeah, well congratulations on the internship and it’s so interesting you talk about that self-reflection. I had talked to another past recipient a couple weeks ago and she said the exact same thing. That looking back and seeing how much you’ve actually done in high school, sometimes you don’t realize, like how busy you are and what you did during that time and taking that and writing it down and saying, wow I’m really, I’m kind of awesome. I’ve done all of these things, let me tell people and see what I can get out of it and how all of this hard work is going to pay off for me so, I think that’s great. Could you talk a little bit about what you were involved in in high school?
Colin: Yeah, for sure. I was the over involved kid, if you will. I was a varsity runner for cross country and track, I was a captain for those teams. I led the environmental club, I led the NHS, I was in student council, I was in orchestra. I did robotics, helped start the robotics program, actually, as well as start the drone program.
Maddy: Wow!
Colin: So, I did a little bit of everything.
Maddy: You did!
Colin: Very widespread. I’m sure there’s one or two things I’m probably forgetting too just because, you know, I did just about everything. Looking back on all of those things, it’s like, well, I did a lot with this club and that’s helped me this way now. You know, yeah, it’s helped a lot with, the self-reflection has helped a lot with growing into college and figuring out who I am.
Maddy: Yeah, that’s great and it sounds like you had a lot of leadership roles and that’s a really good thing. Even, not just scholarships, but for your resume too, right? Looking for those internships and your first job, like your first job after graduating, the big kid job is what we like to say, right? So, building that resume and taking on those leadership roles and those activities is really awesome so good job on that.
Colin: Thank you!
Maddy: Do you have any advice for current high school seniors, whether that’s applying for scholarships, getting involved in their community, in their school? What advice do you have? Or just in general?
Colin: Yeah, definitely. First, do community service. Community service is huge, huge in applications and developing yourself all around. It’s such a big thing that you can do that will just put you in a good spot. A lot of people I know have found their passion by doing different types of community service and they’ve learned a lot about themselves and what career they want to pursue through community service, including myself. I did some work in cities and I discovered that urban planning and civil engineering was where I wanted to go into because of some of the community service I did. It’s also a really great thing to write about on college applications, scholarships, just your resume in general. Most places that want to hire you, want to hear about community service more than leadership, I’ve learned.
Maddy: I think a lot of high school kids, they don’t think about that. It’s good to hear from someone like you who’s now left high school and you’ve started college and you’ve found success and you’ve got this great internship, that advice of, get out there and do it. Do the community service, do a few hours, like, do what you can. That’s really good insight to have.
Colin: Yeah and I’m still doing some community service in college. I’m working with a homeless shelter right down the road in East Lansing right now.
Maddy: Nice!
Colin: And that, again, it builds me as a person, it builds my understanding of the world and I think it’s going to make a big impact on future applications as well so, kind of a win-win situation.
Maddy: Oh, it is, no, I agree. If you could have, like, a survival guide for incoming freshmen for next year, what would be your top tips?
Colin: Alright, I’ve got five of them.
Maddy: Oh good!
Colin: Number one, join clubs, get involved. It’s so much easier to find friends when you join a club. I learned that the easy way luckily. I know some friends who didn’t join any club at the beginning of the year and they were just bored out of their minds. And I was like, just go join a club and so they did and all of a sudden, they had more friends. It’s crazy!
Maddy: Crazy how that works.
Colin: Yeah, most colleges have a fair at the beginning of the year where you can meet different clubs. I highly recommend you attend that and just get on a bunch of email lists. You can always unsubscribe from those email lists later on if you don’t really want to join the club. But like, just go to a few minutes, subscribe to some email lists, join some group chats and meet some people that way. Number two, stay organized. Stay organized, just create a calendar for classes, tests, quizzes, exams, social events. Set reminders for the things you don’t want to miss, make sure not lose your old notes, your old tests and for everything online too. Like, I’m not just talking about, hey, keep everything in a binder because most of our stuff is online now but make sure your files are organized in an easy to find folder and back your stuff up on a google drive, organize it there too. You don’t want to go through the process of recreating something because you couldn’t find it later on or having to try to search back through all your folders, like, where did I put this one note file? When you’re going to study it, just have it organized. It makes it so much easier in the end. And it takes so little time at the beginning, it just takes a little bit of extra time.
Maddy: Right.
Colin: Oh, it’s so much nicer. It works so much better.
Maddy: Yeah, good.
Colin: Number three, go to your classes whenever possible but don’t stress out if you do miss a class. Most professors are willing to work with you, they have open office hours, they can talk to you. Most of the professors will either record their lecture and post an old lecture from during Covid or post their slideshow. The information is all out there so if you do happen to miss, don’t stress out too much about it but there are definitely things you will learn in your lecture that you will not learn from online so, try to go to your lectures. Number four is don’t be afraid to go get help. Almost all college, Michigan State included, study groups all over the place, tutoring services, all the professors’ office hours. If you’re struggling with class, go get help. Its not something to be ashamed of, I mean, even the top students, the top students are getting help. That’s how they become a top student. It’s not just like they happen to know calc 4, no one just happens to know calc 4, that’s not, that’s not how it works, you know? Everyone needs to go get help, so. And then number five, find a place to study that isn’t your dorm room. If I’ve learned anything in the last semester, my dorm is distracting. I’m sitting there, surrounded by all of the things I love the most and my homework. Those are two separate things, homework is not included in the things I love most category, let me make that clear. I can get bored so easily because, I mean the lighting is just bad and it’s all monotone and all of my favorite things are sitting all around me. It’s so hard to be productive in my dorm because all of the distractions are just everywhere. For me, I happened to find the MSU library, I go up to the fourth floor in a back corner with some windows and there’s a shelf right next to me with all of the old Shakespeare books so for me, that smells like old books and natural lighting and I don’t get distracted because that’s all there is there. That’s my perfect place to study
Maddy: You’ve got your spot.
Colin: So, find a place to study that isn’t your dorm because you will not make any progress if you’re trying to study in your dorm. If it’s a class you enjoy, yeah go ahead and study in your dorm, I mean honestly, but for me, at least finding that other place to study is why I’m still productive.
Maddy: Good, good. Those are great tips, those are good top five tips. It makes me think of my college days and you’re right, going to the library was a big thing and even if you go with a friend, a friend that won’t distract you, is a good way to stay motivated too. Go with someone and motivate each other and motivate each other to get your studying and your homework done. Good, I liked those! So, my last question for you is, what is your goal after you graduate? I know you’re a few years away from that but where do you hope to be, what do you hope to be doing? Are you going to stick around the area?
Colin: I hope to stick around the area. I’m planning to go get a Master’s in Urban Planning and become an Urban Planner. So urban planning is more of social work style job. It’s kind of the overall making sure cities work for people and making sure that equity’s included in cities, that everyone has access to everything, that traffic flow still works, that festivals happen. You know, urban planning is kind of bringing it all together to make sure that people enjoy the city.
Maddy: Yeah, that’s awesome!
Colin: So, yeah.
Maddy: Good, well thank you so much. That was really good insight, I appreciate your time.
Colin: Awesome. Well, thank you so much!
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