“At first, the transition from high school to college was quite difficult because it was a new and completely different environment, hours away from home. After a few weeks, school, the campus, and volleyball felt like home away from home, and I truly feel that I have a great support system here. I enjoy Stevenson very much. My freshman experience has exceeded my expectations. I enjoy eating dinner at Rockland with my friends and playing volleyball with my teammates, who are more like family. I love spending time with my amazing friends that I have made here and attending sports events. In high school, I procrastinated a lot and had very poor time management. That was the biggest challenge that I had to overcome because I did not know how to handle sports and my schoolwork in college. Here at Stevenson, I have learned how to manage my time to stay ahead of my work so I am not overwhelmed or causing unnecessary stress. I look forward to continuing my academic journey and obtaining my doctorate in clinical psychology, as well as playing the sport that I love.

“After my four years at Stevenson, I plan to further my degree in psychology and obtain my doctorate in clinical psychology. I am hoping that after I obtain my doctorate, I will move back to North Carolina and start pursuing my dream career as a clinical psychologist. I knew for many years that I wanted an occupation that allowed me to help others. It is extremely rewarding to me whenever I am able to help. Because psychology is so broad, I know I want to continue down this path and expand my education and knowledge to further my own understanding of how to help. I am hoping that not only will I continue to help others, which is my top priority and passion, but I will also be able to travel. There are many parts of the world that I want to see. Also, I hope to adopt many dogs in need of a new home! My short-term goals are to take everything day by day. Improving my time management has helped me by improving my mood and grades. As far as my long-term goals go, I will set my focus on furthering my education while accomplishing other milestones. I want to be able to say to myself, ‘I made it, I did this.”