Leavey Ambassadors Program Blogs

Senior Year is going by quicker than expected, and I’ve been spending a lot of time reflecting on all that I’ve learned from the classes I’ve had, organizations I’ve joined, and people I’ve met. It’s more than halfway through Fall Quarter, and I’ll be graduating at the end of Winter 2023. With that being said, I wanted to take some time to put myself in the POV as an incoming first-year that had so many questions coming in. 

What major did you end up choosing to pursue and why?
I ended up choosing Management Information Systems, which is not where I thought I was headed. I came in with the intention to pursue Marketing but I took OMIS 34 and OMIS 108 (classes that all business students have to take as part of the curriculum), and I found myself being way more interested in the subject than I thought I would be. The business school encouraged me to dip my toes in the many different majors such as Accounting, Finance, Marketing, Management. While I found myself being interested in a few and struggling in others as well, MIS was the clear option. 

Did you join as many organizations as you thought you would? 
I told myself coming in as a first-year that I was going to take things slow and look at organizations after an entire quarter of settling in; however, my first quarter I joined Alpha Kappa Psi, a professional business fraternity that ultimately sparked my interest in getting involved in other organizations on campus. I became a Peer Advisor for the business school, a program coordinator for SCCAP, and a consultant for Santa Clara Consulting. Each year was a chance for me to pursue things that I hadn’t before. I even joined the Intramurals team for soccer which brought me back to playing soccer in high school which I never thought I would do again. Overall, I found that the more organizations I exposed myself to, the more I learned about my interests and long-term goals. 

Did you ever have the opportunity to find your first job? 
I finally started working! My first job was on campus as a Social Media Assistant for the Ignatian Center. I tried different positions such as a Summer Peer Advisor, Desk Assistant at Student Centers, and even a mover for Bronco Storage. It’s been an amazing experience having to balance work and school, and I’m happy to say that I put myself out there with different positions. 

What’s something you wish you knew then that you know now? 
That’s a difficult question to answer, but I will say that I wish I wasn’t so nervous about the future. I remember worrying about whether I would be successful in academics, clubs, work, and more, but failure and success come regardless of whether you’re worried or not. I’ve had my fair share of failures in college, but as long as that doesn’t deter me from pursuing my goals then failures serve as great learning lessons to hold on to. 

Do you have a full-time offer entering post-grad?
I currently do not, but I’m working on it! I haven’t even gotten into the thick of job searching, but I’ve started. I’ve scheduled appointments with the Career Center on campus, informational interviews with alumni, and used sites such as Handshake which is offered by the school to search for roles. Although time is going quicker than expected, I’m confident that I am ready for the next steps in life because of all that I have learned and experienced as a student of SCU.