Advice from an EEJ ambassador

Becca Mortensen

The EEJ college of Education and Human Services is lucky to have a group of dedicated ambassadors. When we hold recruiting events, they're out encouraging students from all backgrounds to receive their education from us. Today Becca Mortensen reveals her answers to some of the most-asked questions. She is the ambassador from the Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education department.

Take it away, Becca!

The Utah State open houses for high school students are a riot of fun!  The students attending them are more ready than ever before to grow into adults through an exciting academic experience at Utah State University.  These young adults are full of fears, uncertainty, and excitement about the future.  Our job is to put to rest those fears and help them find a major that will satisfy their interests and help them reach their potential.

Our ambassadors, ready to jump into the new year. Photos courtesy of Amy Wilberg.

One of the most exciting questions for us to answer is “What do you like about Utah State?"....or, "Why did you choose Utah State?”  We come to Utah State to have fun and make friends with diverse groups of people and find out who we are.  We come for the cozy and comfortable campus; the fantastic faculty that give us hands-on research experiences; for the well rounded and liberal education found here.

Another common question is, “What are the requirements to get into my program?”  It’s fantastic that as ambassadors we’ve all been in our programs for several years.  It’s fresh in our minds what we had to do as undergrads, freshman, and sophomores to get ahead.  Some of the things we did to prepare included taking writing tests, keeping our grades up and getting some experience in our fields.  

A lot of the questions we receive as ambassadors are about of three of the most popular majors: psychology, elementary education, and physical therapy/pre-med.  Psychology can be fascinating to students who are just coming out of the teenage years and have experienced many changes.  Elementary education at Utah State is definitely one of the best in the country, and highly sought after.  Lastly, pre-med and physical therapy is available for so many out there who wish to save lives.  

Lastly, we are asked, “What should I do to prepare for my major?”

”Meet with a counselor,” we say, “hands down!”

We have some highly knowledgeable counselors here at Utah State who are up on the requirements at the University and in the field. And if they aren’t sure about something, they will figure it out.  Meeting with your advisor will keep you on track to graduate in 4 years or less with all the requirements you need.  They will also let you know how to get extra help if needed, for any one of your classes or major requirements.  

Our favorite thing to tell students is that they can be whoever they want to be in college.  They can be a better student, a better friend, more involved or whatever they dream of being.  You don’t have to be how you were in high school.  College is a new start.  And you get to learn all about how to do that at the Utah State open houses.

Here are the remaining open houses for this semester:

Nov. 27, 2012: St. George, Dixie Center, 1835 S. Convention Center Drive, 6 to 8 p.m.
Nov. 28, 2012: Las Vegas, Cashman Center, 850 Las Vegas Blvd North, 6 to 8 p.m.