我的个人毕业之旅
我会挣扎，我会挣扎，我会失败. 我要从灰烬中重生，我要茁壮成长，我要成功. 临近毕业之际，我回顾了过去发生的一切. My personal journey to graduation has been long and tough, but I don’t regret a thing.
2011年6月9日:太热了. Surrounded by my classmates under the boiling sun, I’m waiting to walk across our graduation stage. 我的思绪在狂奔，我的心砰砰直跳. 这是我余生的开始. I’m going to go to college, I’ll graduate with my veterinary degree in no more than four years. I’m going to study hard, get great grades, have good friends, and enjoy my college experience. 能有多难，对吧?
In August, 2011, I was a freshman at 澳门威尼斯人官网 at beautiful University Park. I was constantly told that I should be so proud, I was so lucky, so many people wanted to be there. 然而，我觉得自己很渺小，很失落. 这里不是应该是欢乐谷吗?
“我真不敢相信我忘了那个作业.“再一次. I’m in such a constant state of panic that I can never seem to remember what assignment is due on any given day. I never had this problem in high school, it really shouldn’t be that difficult. And yet here I am, I’m failing several classes and close to failing in my others. 我是怎么来到这里的? 为什么我不能保持清醒?
As the days passed, I found myself too overwhelmed with everything to focus on anything academic. A professor that taught my pre-vet freshman seminar told us that most of us would not successfully complete the degree. 这并没有缓解我对学业的焦虑.
"It didn’t take long into my first semester to realize that this situation wasn’t right for me, 慢慢地，我产生了根深蒂固的学业焦虑."
——娜塔莉·哈格德，澳门威尼斯人官网2017届毕业生
在这个时候，我是否更能控制自己的情绪呢, I would have recognized how uncomfortable I felt; this was beyond “new school jitters.” It didn’t take long into my first semester to realize that this situation wasn’t right for me, 慢慢地，我产生了根深蒂固的学业焦虑. 这种恐慌困扰了我很多年, 破坏了我和家人的关系, 重要的人, 和朋友.
感恩节期间, I refused to tell my parents of my struggles as I thought I could recover after break. 惊喜，惊喜，什么都没变. 快进到寒假. 我屈服了. 我流着泪告诉父母我在学校是多么悲惨. 我的父母很努力地想给我一个继续的理由, 尽管他们努力了, 我变得很沮丧，2012年春季学期比秋季学期更糟糕.
期末考试前两周, I called my dad and told him that I had withdrawn from school and needed him to come get me in the next 24 hours. 不用说，他很不高兴. 我因失败而崩溃.
在接下来的9个月, 我会问自己, 高等教育, 以及生活本身，因为我一份接一份地工作，只要我能找到工作. 其中一些工作确实很奇怪, but I was relentless in my efforts to pay off the bills that came with my new adult responsibilities.
在杂货店工作了几个月之后, 快餐连锁店, 还有大量的零工只是为了维持生计, 我终于觉得我受够了. 这不是我的生活. 我要去上学，拿到学位，过上舒适的生活. The best way to do this was to finish my college degree and use the resources provided by Penn State to help me develop a career.
娜塔莉·哈格德, 2017届企业传播班, 和布莱恩·波尔克, 宗教研究及英语高级讲师.
来源:Jim Hopf
重返大学
2013年秋天，我鼓起勇气回到学校. 只是这一次我将加入一个不同的校园. 输入 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校.
The cold reality of this was the laborious journey of bringing up my GPA after a dismal first year coupled with my crippling anxiety in academic settings. It was in my first semester that I truly realized the hardships that I would have to overcome, 但是会有很棒的人来帮助我.
布莱恩·波尔克的神秘主义课程. I thought it would be a great way to ease my way back into school but severely underestimated my mental hold ups. My first exam was blue book format, and after 50 minutes I handed it in — blank. 波尔克教授看到空白页显然很震惊. 我正要出门时，他拦住了我，问我发生了什么事. 他真诚的关心使我很难保持镇静.
而不是表达失望或教训我, 波尔克教授温和地告诉我再试一次. He had me take home the exam and instructed me to spend 30 minutes on it and then set it aside.
"I can remember how it felt to have a professor treat me with such compassion without even knowing my story. 这段经历一直伴随着我."
——娜塔莉·哈格德
我记不清那次考试得多少分了, but I can remember how it felt to have a professor treat me with such compassion without even knowing my story. 这段经历一直伴随着我的大学生涯, 我相信我的余生都会记住它.
It took me a few semesters to really get back on track academically and re-enroll as a full-time student. By that point, I had entirely lost interest in my original major, pre-vet sciences. I took an anatomy class that I nearly failed despite the encouraging energy from my professor, 雪莱Grinar-Boyd. 即使在我意识到科学不是我的强项之后, 无论我们什么时候谈话，她都保持积极乐观的态度. 直到今天，我总是称她为我的“酷女士”教授. 任何见过她的人都会明白我的意思.
找到我的道路和我的激情
尽管存活了下来, 我知道我对科学不再感兴趣了, 但我还不知道我的兴趣在哪里. 我开始参加各种各样的课程，在学术池塘里试了试. 犹豫了一个学期后，我选择了企业传播专业. 当时, 我不知道这个学位包含了什么, 但我觉得听起来很有趣，所以我就这么做了. I had some reservations at first because I had always been a “science” person but after several communication, 写作和公共关系课程, 我曾坠入爱河.
我被分配给我的公司沟通顾问，Dr. 丽莎Chewning. 当她了解我的时候, through her wisdom and advice she was able to steer me toward classes that strengthened my weaknesses and piqued my interests. 我上了几门她是我教授的课, 她经常不厌其烦地帮我完成实习任务.
自从找到了我的道路和激情, 我已经开始放松了，在我意识到之前, 我喜欢去上课, 我珍惜那些帮助我充实简历的任务.
The time came for me to check off another requirement on my graduation journey: An internship. 实习的目的是让你获得经验, 但更重要的是, 明确你的职业, 我可以肯定地说，我的父亲就是这样.
职业发展副协调员凯伦·卡莉登场了. 凯伦多次与我会面，讨论简历的修改, 可能的实习, 面试技巧. She even sent me an Excel sheet with pages on pages of color-coded internship availabilities.
我最终选择了大学关系部提供给我的实习, 威尼斯人娱乐信誉平台分校的市场部. 这是我所希望的，甚至更多. 在我的第一学期，我学会了如何拍摄高质量的专业照片, 拍摄视频, 使用HTML格式来增强我们的网站, 提高我的社交媒体内容创作和沟通, 和一些非常重要的人建立联系.
“我被分配到公司公关顾问那里. ... Through her wisdom and advice she was able to steer me toward classes that strengthened my weaknesses and piqued my interests.——娜塔莉·哈格德
我会怀念在大学关系部工作的时光. This internship has allowed me to have a firm picture of what I want my future to look like and what kind of work I hope to do.
Six years ago, when this all began, I would have never envisioned myself where I am now. I would have laughed at anyone who told me that my heart would lead me to a communication degree.
我会想念威尼斯人娱乐信誉平台分校和它给我的一切. 我带着恐惧和对高等教育的蔑视来到这所学校. I will remember this time fondly as the period that helped me find my strength again. 教授, 教师, and staff that guided me will always have a place in my heart as the people who believed in me when I wasn’t sure I deserved it.
这要感谢像布莱恩·波尔克这样的教授, 雪莱Grinar-Boyd, 丽莎Chewning和更多, 我才有了今天. I also am profoundly thankful to 教师 and staff like Karen Carli and everyone in University Relations who have helped me immensely in my journey to my career. Although my story is my own, many students face challenges and detours to their degree. Hopefully, they can find comfort in my story and continue on in their own journeys.
总之，谢谢威尼斯人娱乐信誉平台分校.
