Majors: History, Classical Civilization
Hometown: Ypsilanti, Michigan
Where did you transfer from?
Washtenaw Community College
Tell us about your transfer journey.
I graduated high school in 2017, two years early and after having been homeschooled for most of my life (with the exception of a couple years in grade school). I didn’t have a guidance counselor, or any counselor for that matter, or teachers or employers I could get letters of recommendation from so as far as I was able to tell I was effectively unable to apply to any of the colleges I had wanted to go to. It was very hard trying to navigate the college application process, even with the input of my parents who were both college graduates. Around this same time, I developed some severe chronic health conditions that dramatically altered my life. I decided that the best decision I could make at that time was to enroll in community college and transfer to a four year university at a later date, so I enrolled in WCC. My plan from the beginning was to try and transfer to U of M. I only took a class or two a semester, as my health situation was increasingly complicated, but after finishing out the terms of the Michigan Transfer Agreement I was finally able to transfer for the winter semester of 2021.
Why did you choose to transfer to the University of Michigan?
The university offered a great program for my major, and I was kind of blown away by the sheer number of courses offered; further, the amount of resources available to students (internships, jobs, research opportunities, student groups, archives, library collections, etc.) was dazzling. It’s nearly impossible for me to imagine not having wanted to transfer here.
Based on your personal experience, what is the one thing you want to tell new transfer students?
Check your email. Genuinely, the amount of stress I could have saved myself by checking my email more frequently is sort of ridiculous.
How did you make friends and meet other students on campus?
I joined some student groups that seemed interesting as well as a couple of online groups for U of M students.
What is your favorite part about being an LSA transfer student?
Because I transferred with all of my “general-ed” type graduation requirements taken care of, I’ve been able to focus my time at the university 100% on courses that go towards my major and things that I’m passionate about. It’s made my time at the university feel more meaningful.
What do you know now that you wished you knew before transferring to the University of Michigan?
It all seemed really intimidating at first, transferring to U of M from a community college, but in hindsight it wasn’t worth the anxiety. I was better prepared to be here than the people coming in straight from highschool and pretty much nobody was as prepared or put together as I thought they were anyways.
Why did you choose your specific major(s)?
I actually decided that I wanted to major in history in college when I was still in middle school, when my career plan was to join the Foreign Service and be a U.S. diplomat. My aspirations have changed since then, as I’m now a pre-law student, but the major still makes sense so I’m sticking with it.
Office Hours
Monday - Friday: 8:00 am - 7:00 pm