by | Sarah Wentzel
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eminiscing on all of her childhood memories in rural Western North Carolina, senior Tazmae Padilla is preparing herself for a big change in both scenery and lifestyle. Roughly 1,500 miles away, the University of Denver awaits the arrival of many new faces in the upcoming school year. Those faces include Padilla’s. Though most students from West choose to attend colleges in North Carolina and surrounding states, Padilla chose to become a Denver Pioneer and join the 5,000 plus undergraduate students there. She considered schools in North Carolina, but didn’t make any huge connections with them. “I feel like Colorado is more diverse and well-rounded. I’ve always really liked it there, and I love the feel of the Rocky Mountains with the city life of Denver,” Padilla said. The university offers programs that Padilla is interested in, including international studies and sociology. “I took all of the criminology
classes at Blue Ridge Community College. Afterward, I wanted to get into something like that,” Padilla said. “I wanted to do something different and be able to travel. I may change my mind while I’m there, but I know I’ll find something that really fits me.” Putting such a large distance between Padilla and her family is causing a little anxiety. Traveling so far away will mean fewer visits home and a longer distance to travel to get her belongings there. Padilla plans on driving to Denver to move in on Aug. 31. The school will hold a week-long freshman orientation, which will include many activities and concerts. “Last year The Lumineers came to the school during orientation. I’ve heard great things about the week,” Padilla said. “Those days will give me opportunities to make friends and ease into school life.” Visits home will be less frequent, and Padilla plans on making winter break her first visit back. She is both excited and anxious to see what her college experience has in store for her.
by | Erin Gromelski
A
s her friends waited anxiously for their college acceptance letters to start rolling in this spring, senior Katie Miller was waiting for a different type of acceptance. She had made nervously checking her email inbox an everyday ritual, awaiting the news that could alter her path in life. On April 22, Miller opened the inbox to find exactly what she had been hoping to find for months — notification of her acceptance into the prestigious AmeriCorps volunteer program. “In the broad spectrum of AmeriCorps, there are lots of different smaller programs. It’s basically a Peace Corps in America,” Miller said. “I’ve always liked volunteering and helping out. Every other summer my church would go on a mission trip, and I always loved doing those, but it was just a week long.” Miller will be volunteering with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Corps in Vinton, Iowa. The pro-
gram is for 18 to 24 year olds and has five different bases around America where the participants are trained and then signed a specific sector for work. FEMA Corps members go into communities affected by natural disasters and assist in the rebuilding process. The decision to join AmeriCorps rather than attend a university in the fall weighed heavily on Miller. She ultimately decided that college was too large of an investment when she does not know what she wants to study. “I didn’t feel ready for college yet, and I didn’t know what I was interested in doing,” Miller said. “I didn’t want to waste my time and my parents’ money on something I wasn’t wholly invested in, so I started looking into alternatives. I looked at some different internship programs and volunteering programs closer to home, but none stood out to me. I don’t think my parents totally agree with my choice, but they have told me that they are going to support me no matter what. They just aren’t sure of it yet.”
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