Being a resident of Florida, Scott had the ability to earn scholarships that would guarantee that he would attend college with no costs. But, exactly how and why is he now getting paid to attend college?
Transcription
Kamila
Hey, college kids, welcome back to my podcast who cares about college? In today’s episode, I’ll be interviewing Scott. So Scott, could you please introduce yourself?
Scott
Hello, everyone. I’m Scott Wolf. I’m from Florida. at UCF. I’m an integrated business major with a minor in professional sales. I’m currently about to enter my senior year, I always like to describe it as my junior and a half year. But come December, I’ll be officially a senior.
Kamila
Interesting. So take me back to perhaps this was middle school for you most likely High School, how important was education for your family? And how did that influence how you approach the college process.
Scott
So education was always pretty important. Within my family, I think my sister was more always towards sports, I was the one who is more school oriented. But education was definitely a priority. My both my parents went to college. So they they got the sort of prepaid for us. So I was our expectation to go to college as our expectation to perform well, and get into a good college and pretty much make something of ourselves. And so I think the whole college process for me, started as soon as I was getting actual letter grades, so even probably elementary school for me. As soon as I was able to get like a letter grade of an A B, from there is what I started.
Kamila
See. And one thing I want to talk about in Florida, I discovered this like when I interviewed Megan stuff. So the Bright Futures Program is it basically pays your tuition if you meet the the grade requirements in the volunteer requirements. So did your family have the expectation? Like you, you must get this bright future scholarship at least the 75% tuition one?
Scott
Yeah. So actually, yeah, so yes, the answer is yes. We also have on Florida called the Florida Prepaid program, which I think some other states have it. But you can opt in as parents to pay a certain rate straight up, you pay if you pay a fee, you pay for a service. And then when your kids go to college, their tuition is already paid for as well. So with bright futures, so we got that with my family, we got that on my parents both got it for my sister, and myself. And it was also the expectation of us, though, to go even further into that Florida Bright Futures scholarship and they wanted 100%. They expected even though tuition was already going to be covered, they still expected us to go for that bright futures. I remember when I first entered high school, my mom’s like, Alright, your sister just finished her high school experience. And she’s like, the one thing that she’s going to tell you is to get your bright futures hours done like freshman year, get all 100 of them done that way. You don’t have to worry about it. So that’s sort of what I did. And I was definitely an expectation. They were like, you have to do this. For sure.
Kamila
Yeah. And so you have a sister who, I guess graduated high school the year you came in. So how much of a help was she to you in the college process like guiding you through it and understanding it?
Scott
So I love my sister, I really do. We were very different in high school. And I mean, we’re very different people in general. But she ended up going to FAU so my freshman year of high school, she had started her freshman year at Florida Atlantic University down in Boca. And she was going for I think marine biology. And I was not really into that. But she gave me some advice. I think most of the advice not really came for applying for colleges. But more so came from being in college, sort of what to expect what were her experiences with in her first few years there. And it was that kind of didn’t help me a lot because I was about to go visit her since she was still in Florida, she was just three hours away. So I went down, I got to visit her see what columns like sort of get an experience or an insight into what I had coming up for me.
Kamila
That’s very interesting. We’ll get into that one. We talked about the college portion of like going into college. But let’s go back to high school and you know, freshman year is when they start like actually counting your grades towards a GPA. So coming into high school, what kind of classes you know, regular honors, AP, if your school offered them, what kind of classes did you start off taking? And did you like maintain A’s throughout the year mixture of A’s and B’s?
Scott
Yeah, so I at my high school I went to Obito High School in Florida. And the you can only take one AP class going into your freshman year and that was AP Human Geography I think is what it was. And even though I had maintained A’s all throughout my middle school year, and it was recommended all my teachers in middle school were like, oh like two take AP, human geography. I was still hesitant. I’m, you know, I don’t like homework at all. I’m one of those students. So you know, most people don’t. But I was really like I don’t want to do I’m just going to a new school like I don’t want to be pressured in any way. And ap you know, I’m I’m a freshman in high school, what am I doing taking a college class, right? So I sort of opted out of that one. But I did take everything else honors. And throughout my all my high school classes, I ended up getting all A’s, I graduated with a 4.471 GPA. And I ended up taking AP classes within the three years after my freshman year, and anything that wasn’t AP was honors, or I guess, a required elective. But it was definitely I looking back on it, I guess I wish I would have taken that first AP class my freshman year, because it would have honestly that one AP class is what determined my class rank for being 16 out of 609. And I could have been in a top 10. How had I taken that one AP class and got an A in it? Of course, if I would have gotten an A.
Kamila
So So is that a regret you have? Or is that kind of like, Oh, I could have done and I could have been in the top? 10?
Scott
Yeah, it’s not really a it’s not really regret, because I love where I’m at now. And I you know, I don’t think I would have wanted it any other way. So honestly, I don’t know if I would have gotten into into a different school had I been in the top 10. But I definitely think it’s something that had I done, it would have been a little bit like just a small little notch in my belt, but that nothing, nothing major regret there.
Kamila
So use it, you made it apparent that you know, education, very important for your family. And you were expected to take these challenging courses. And I assume you took the AP test that comes with AP class. So what was your average score on those?
Scott
So most of my AP classes i i was very even though I’m in business now I was very math oriented and very science oriented in high school. So I took classes such as, like AP Physics, one and two. AP Statistics, AP environmental science, AP Calculus, I took all those and anything that had to deal with math or science, I averaged, I guess a four, I guess a four and a half, maybe? I don’t know, I know. They don’t do it by halves. But I got fours and fives on anything science and math. And then anything like history, or language arts, or even psychology, I guess psychology is a science. It’s a it’s a social science, but I average probably like a 3.5. So I got threes and fours. I don’t think I ever got a five on anything. History or language arts related?
Kamila
And with taking these AP test, obviously to show them to the college. But did you have the intention of maybe graduating a little bit early? Or maybe opting out of some classes in college? Or were they just to like, I guess fluff up your application.
Scott
So at first, it was pretty much purely to fluff fluff, fluff up an application. I was I actually had a good friend of mine, we kind of had a competition on who could get the highest GPA just between the two of us.
Scott
Same with one of my friends, too. Yeah.
Scott
Yeah. So yeah, you kind of know how it is. And we were pretty much taking the same exact classes. So it was it was fun. And that’s sort of what motivated me was I’m a pretty competitive person. So it was just that small competition just with my friend. And I did not realize the payoff until I got to college because I pretty much cleped out of an entire year worth of college. And that’s also an entire year worth of tuition and fees that I didn’t have to pay all because I did well, in those AP classes.
Kamila
That’s That’s amazing. So good. You did that you didn’t even realize you were doing well. So by the end of high school, what was the unweighted and weighted GPA that you send to all the colleges?
Scott
So okay, I think weighted is the one where you include AP and honors right?
Kamila
I get them confused. One is out of 4.0 the other is something else.
Scott
Okay. So then whatever the one I think way Yeah, weighted would be a 4.471 as what I graduated with, and then my unweighted GPA 4.0 4.0. And
Kamila
then that GPA did it place you above average average or below average for this, like the school is relative schools you’re applying to.
Scott
So I those schools that I applied to. Definitely, my GPA was above average it was it was very far actually a higher and it was my LSAT scores that were pretty much average there but definitely my GPA was on the higher end.
Kamila
You bring up something yeah LSAT to what did you get on the LSAT?
Scott
So the si t I got a 1430 on 30 Okay, I was gonna say the AC T I got a 29 do so well now when I fell asleep during one section, but we don’t talk about that.
Kamila
We will talk about that. So let’s start with first of all preparation for it. What made you decide to take both LSAT and AC t?
Scott
So I took that LSAT, of course is like, for me, I feel like growing up in the town I grew up in and the schools I went to that LSAT was almost required and the AC T was like, Yeah, you can take that if you want. So the LSAT was something that I already knew I was going to have to do and I was gonna have to do well on. So pretty much how I prepared for that one was I started just with the PSAT. My school my high school was they offered one free PSAT per year as a sophomore, so sophomore and junior year you got a free PSAT and then you also got the free LSAT, your senior year. So that’s how I initially started. And at first it was like, Okay, I’m just gonna take this because it’s like a free day at school, I don’t really do much. I’m just gonna take the PSAT and I didn’t do so good on my first PSAT. So that kind of hurt my pride a little bit. I’m like, Well, you know, maybe I should probably be trying on this. And so the second one, I actually prepared to study for the PSAT in preparation for the PSAT right. So what I did was, I went and I, I didn’t do any, like, prep book, or prep classes, what I really did was I went on YouTube. I mean, it was simple as that for me. And where I struggled the most is recounting algebra and accounting geometry, because it had been several years since I was in any of those classes. And I forgot the foundations. I mean, I forgot the basics. I could do your basic algebra, but anything specific regarding any formula or like, like certain exponent rules? And what oh, gosh, I have no idea. So I just simply went on YouTube, and I refresh my memory on that the night before, or the week before, I guess I was doing it in segments. And same thing with grammar. Like, I did so bad in the writing section, like the grammar section of the LSAT. The first time I took it, it was it felt bad, because I’m like, I know I don’t, I don’t speak terribly. I don’t write terrible, but for some reason, like specific grammar I was like, terrible with. So I really emphasize that with my studying, because those are easy points. If you can, no, if you know your grammar. Those are easy points that you can get on your LSAT.
Kamila
Yeah. So you take the LSAT, and after you took it and got that you said it was 1430, right? Yes. So was that like a one time try? Or did you take it multiple times, and that’s the score you ended up getting?
Scott
So I took it twice. That was my second score. My first score was a 1340. And I was I was fine with that. I was fine with a 1340 at first. And I’m like, okay, you know, that’s not too bad. I could do better, I think. But overall, it’s still better than average. And then of course, the friend I was telling you about earlier, he got a 1400. And I’m like, Okay, I need to take it again. Now I can’t let you have 60 points ahead of me. So I took it again. And that made him take it once I got to 1430 he ended up taking it again. And I think he ended up scoring higher than me. But I was like I’m done. I’m tapped out. I’ll just take the 1430.
Kamila
And now let’s talk about your AC t. So you took that. And so tell us about the preparation. And then tell us about why you fell asleep during one of the sections.
Scott
Yeah, so the AC T. Honestly, the reason why I took the AC T was because one of the schools I was applying for they were there wasn’t required, but it would look nice. And the reason why is because I was actually on the average end of that my LSAT score was like it was directly at the median and I needed to distinguish myself a little bit more. So I didn’t want to take the LSAT again, I didn’t think I was going to be able to perform as well on the LSAT. I think I did all I could to prepare for that test. And I wanted to try something different and they accepted an AC t score. So I’m like okay, maybe I’ll just take the AC T and see exactly where I’m at. Now I made the mistake of thinking the AC T was almost the same exact test as the LSAT and so I honestly did not study specifically for the AC t. So day of I’m expecting to be very similar to the LSAT I’m like okay, like it’s gonna be similar structure and I’m going to nail this and I fell asleep the first couple sections were great. I fell asleep in the science section. And I did not even know there was a science section when I was going to take the test this was this is just me being unprepared which you know anyone listening? Please do not make the same mistake the AC T is ticket seriously. And I fell asleep during the science section with about halfway through the science section and it was just because not because I was up late the night before or You know, I was like restless throughout the night, it was simply just because I think I don’t even know what happened. I think maybe I got a little bit like overconfident or just bored. It might have been one is a combination of probably two, it was probably the combination of me saying, you know, what does this score really going to do for me? And do I really need to be here right now is a Saturday morning, it was really early. And I think I sort of doze off for a bit. And next thing, you know, I’m only halfway through and I hear that, oh, you have 10 minutes left in this section. I’m like, what? Oh, excuse me, where did the time go. But I ended up rushing through a kind of Christmas treated a bit. And I got to 29, which, you know, it was better than I was expecting. But still not it was not near where the standards were for one of the colleges, I was applying for
Kamila
weight, so they don’t wake you up if you fall asleep. So it
Scott
was one of those where I have like my hand on my like, I was kind of like had my hand on my forehead. So it kind of looked like I was just resting my head on my hand and not really like my head down on the desk. So I honestly don’t even think they knew they were aware that I was sleeping. But I really wish they would have and maybe they would have woken me up.
Kamila
That’s interesting. So it was very interesting. I slept during a test, okay. But you’ve taken both the LSAT and the AC T and although you weren’t prepared for the structure of the AC t, because these standardized tests as long as you have the strategies and know the structure, you’re going to do well whether you’re smart or not. So since you’ve taken both, which one do you think is harder in terms of like actual material, I hear the AC T is harder. But some people do better on the AC T than sad.
Scott
I would agree with that. I mean, mainly just because of my score. But I would think the reason why the MCT is harder is I think honestly that science section, I think the science section was kind of weird. And from what I remember having taken it in four years. But from what I remember from my science section, it was almost a combination of reading and science, like it had it had articles that you had to read and comprehend. But it was on sciency subjects. Now, I was I was a stem person and I was someone who really enjoyed math and science. But I don’t enjoy math and science for reading about it. I enjoy math and science for the the physicalness of what it was, which was numbers and calculations. And, you know, reaction. That’s what I enjoyed it for. So reading about science probably is what put me to sleep. But I do think that the AC T is probably a little bit more difficult than the LSAT.
Kamila
Okay, yeah, because I’m taking the LSAT, and I’ve just decided to focus my energy on that. And I don’t know whether I made the right choice there. So thank you there. And let’s see, one last one thing I have about like, actually, no, let’s, let’s talk about this later. Let’s talk about extracurriculars now. So take me through the extracurriculars that you did in high school, and that you put on your college application.
Scott
So yeah, that something another one of my little grants is not being involved enough in high school. I was involved a little bit, but I think my priorities were focused strictly on academics. And I did hear, especially going into my senior year of high school, I did hear the common phrase of you need something on your college applications in your show that you’re involved in to show that you have some sort of experience outside the classroom. And for me, my mindset prior to me hearing that was oh, I’m just gonna ace all my classes get good grades, and that’s going to be enough. Little did I know, you know, a lot of other kids were doing the same thing and more. So they were distinguished because they had all these extracurricular. So what I was involved in, mainly came the later half of my high school years. So I was involved in the bioscience club for a year. That was my junior year. And that was pretty fun. I enjoyed that a lot. I didn’t really move up in there, I was sort of just like a passive member, I’d go to the meetings and have fun and to talk to people. But I was never someone who was like planning events or planning the meetings or moving up in any sort of leadership position within that clubs specifically. And then my senior year, I joined the English Honor Society, because it was going to be advised by my favorite teacher who taught AP Language Arts. So that one that one was a good club, it wasn’t too strenuous. It was something I could put on my college application. It was still had a lot of my friends and it was really nice. But what I really did was I ended up getting a job at the movie theater. And my extracurricular really just came from my part time job and Regal Cinemas at the mall. And I did put that on my college application. And I don’t think I don’t think that really helped or hurt me, but it was there. So I I think my extracurriculars could have been a bit stronger, for sure. But I also think that They do help distinguish, but I don’t think they’re 100% necessary to be successful on a college shirt. And I call it search.
Kamila
Yeah. And with that job because I mean, a job is not something everyone has. So having a job, any kind of job distinguishes you from most applicants. So did you work that just your senior year was a junior and senior.
Scott
So I worked at just Mike worked at the Summer going into my senior year, and then my senior year, so I got it sort of in between. And I probably couldn’t have gotten it any, any earlier. I was like the youngest person they had hired and years and this is the second they hired me, they regretted it, not because I was a terrible employee is because of child labor laws. And I was still 17 At the time I needed to turn 18. And so they had to comply with the child labor laws, which they hadn’t had to deal with in many, many years. So that’s why they regretted it. But after I turned 18, they were fine.
Kamila
Interesting. So you’re saying that you wish you had maybe had a little bit like more strength in your extracurriculars. But overall, when applying to college, and a lot of like top universities, they want those like really fancy extracurriculars. So do you think it hurt you? Like, do you think you got I don’t know if you got rejected from any schools, but do you think you got rejected or deferred from some schools because of those extracurriculars?
Scott
So it’s, I mean, at the end of the day, we’ll never know, it’s definitely a possibility. From what I’ve been hearing, especially at my time at UCF, I hold a lot of leadership positions here that I get to discuss topics with upper administration, including people from admission, the deans, the president, they really, at least the top officials, I’m not I can’t I can’t say for a fact about undergraduate admissions, especially not at every college, but certain colleges, from what I’ve heard. They really, really, really place most of the emphasis on test score and GPA. They do like to see the extracurriculars and that that is the tiebreaker. extracurriculars are the tiebreaker. But extracurriculars isn’t really what’s defining an acceptance or rejection. It’s mainly your test scores, and your GPA. And then of course, if it’s, again, if it’s the same exact as someone else, and that other person has more extracurriculars than you do, then it may be they may be more inclined to go with that person.
Kamila
That is true, because Harvard’s not going to accept the low GPA no matter what your extracurriculars are. Yeah,
Scott
exactly. So do I think it hurt me? It probably honestly, probably because, you know, I did get rejected by my top school choice. But that was a bit of a, that was more ambition than probably reality. But because I met, I met the GPA requirements, I exceeded the GPA requirements, and I met the LSAT score. And so I’m pretty sure a lot of people probably did that. And, you know, I didn’t have the extracurriculars to pack up my portfolio. So that’s why they probably just said, Okay, well, maybe not this time.
Kamila
Okay, so let’s move on to one more component of your college application before we get to your actual college list. So recommendation letters. How did you approach those? Did you think they were any? Like, did you think they were important at all? So how did you approach those? And who did you get them from?
Scott
Yeah, so at first, I wasn’t entirely sold on the idea of recommendation letters, I wasn’t exactly sure why they were necessary. I’ve definitely come to learn how valuable they are, and especially how to get them. So I needed, I needed letters of recommendation, I think, for all my college applications. And I was a little a little concerned, it’s not that I was like a super quiet person in class, but I just don’t, I don’t like to approach people and ask them for things.
Kamila
Exactly. You know, it’s hard to talk to a teacher’s like, much older than you,
Scott
it is hard and asking them to take more time out of their day to do something for you outside that, that can affect the entire class, it’s specifically for you. And it’s even harder if you’re an introvert and I was super introverted in high school. So to even go and ask for something additional was already out of my comfort zone. So the way I went about it was I really looked analytically at okay, what am I applying for? What majors in my you’re trying to look to get into and what teachers are really going to help bolster that application? And so you know, I was very stem oriented. So I’m like, Okay, I probably gonna want someone who teaches my physics class and who teaches some of my science classes. And I’m like, okay, you know, great. Let’s go ahead and start thinking about that. And then I went into their personal lives. I really did. I went and looked at their background. So I got letters of recommendation from my AP advisors. Middle teacher and my AP Physics teacher. So to start off, I was applying one of my schools that I was applying to was a US the University of Florida. And I approached my an AP environmental science teacher because he went to the University of Florida. So I figured that’s probably a good person to get a letter from. He’s an alum. He teaches science. So at some, you know, I was thinking about going into environmental engineering, he teaches environmental science, you know, there’s some commonality there. So I got one from him, I pretty much just went up to him. And I said, Hey, you know, here’s one of my he was probably one of my favorite teachers. You know, Mr. Hogue, your class has honestly been amazing. And I’ve loved every second of it. And I think you did such a good job at like engaging students. And I know you went to USF, I know that you loved it there too. And I was just wondering, like, I’m applying to school there. And I was wondering if you’d be willing to write me a letter of recommendation. And I mean, his eyes lit up. He was just like, of course, you know, I no doubt about it, I would write one. And I took that class in my junior year. So he had already No, he’d already found my final grade, he already knew what I got on my AP test score. So he, he was more than willing to do that for me. And I did the same thing with my physics teacher, who was he’s he used to be a rocket scientist, he worked for, I’m pretty sure he worked for NASA. At some point, he worked for the military and developing certain bombers. And he was a nuclear physicist, that some one point as well, he did a lot. And so I figured, okay, someone with his background, I’m gonna go and ask him to. And he’s a little bit more nervous, because, or I was a little nervous to ask him, mainly just because he was very sarcastic. And he did like to make a lot of jokes. And But same thing happened, I use the same approach pretty much just said, What I got out of his class and where I was applying to, and how I would, you know, I would really like it if he wrote me a letter of recommendation, because he had an impact in my high school career. And he i Same thing he’s like, of course, you know, absolutely, I will. And so I think the biggest thing about letters of recommendation is just kind of just summarizing how their class impacted you, and how you would really appreciate if they were to write one for you, like I’ve written a letter for you.
Kamila
That’s actually that’s actually really Yeah, that’s great advice. So I’m sure your recommendation letters, especially like seeing what your class did for, like, what their class did for you, that like motivated them to write a good one. So do you think your recommendation letters were a strong component of your application? Because I always see them as like, an extra thing to put on there.
Scott
So it depends, but I think, I think they they are. And the main reason is that I think letters of recommendation actually hold more weight than extracurriculars in some sense, because it gives a, it’s a testimonial to who you are to your character, to how you act in class, how professional you are, how courteous you are, how you interact with the teacher, how you interact with their students, because those are two very different things. You know, some people can turn the charm on for someone older than them and authority figure, but then they turn around to their peers, and they’re jerks. And they’re fake, or they are super inappropriate class. And it’s just when you have a teacher attest to certain things, I think, undergraduate admissions, they look at that, and they say, oh, you know, here is an actual example of this student excelling and going above and beyond, here’s their character, here’s a little bit of their personality. It’s almost like your essays that you’re going to be writing for college applications, that gives a little bit more insight into them as a person. Because while colleges do want your money, and they do want you to do well, and they want the best statistics, they also want students who aren’t going to be getting in trouble. They want students who are going to be excelling at their college that are going to be interacting with their professors and not just going to be showing up, stand, you know, sitting in the class in the very back. And then just leaving, they want to they want students are going to contribute to the community of the university.
Kamila
And you said you are more of an introvert in high school. And I know like I guess I go between extrovert and introvert but I know like, I’m not the type of person who likes to constantly talk in class. I’m more listen. And if I have something to say, then I’ll say it. So do you think introverts who have either trouble like speaking up or don’t really feel the need to constantly speak up and would rather listen and then occasionally contribute? Do you think they’re at a disadvantage when it comes to those recommendation letters? Because they’re not like constantly participating and like saying, I really love your class.
Scott
So I always, I always thought the same thing. Because I was that person, and I was, you know, I would talk to the teacher and you know, I would ever raise my hand. No, I would never raise my hand ask a question or any and answer a question. I even if I knew the answer, I would rather do someone else answer I just wouldn’t want to talk. And it’s not that I wasn’t paying attention. It’s just that I was kind of shy, you know, I was an introvert, I didn’t want to speak up. But when you have one on one conversations with some of your teachers, or you know, when you’re even when you’re in college, some of your professors, they, they’ve been doing it for a while, some of these teachers have been doing it for a while, and they know what students are paying attention when they’re not paying attention. They know, the good students from the students who are just sucking up, they they see potential, and whenever they see potential in someone, that’s who they’re going to support. So in some of these cases, if you’re doing well in their class, and you aren’t necessarily speaking up, but whenever you’re called on you do participate, they do know that they do take note, they say, Okay, this person’s doing well, my class, they do participate, whenever they’re called on, they aren’t causing trouble, like they’re a good student, they might not be the student who always comes up and you know, starts joking around and stuff. But I don’t think that necessarily has any sort of disadvantage, with letters of recommendation, especially in high school, when you get to college, you should definitely be trying to be a little more extroverted with in your classes. But when you’re in high school, I don’t think it puts you at that much of a disadvantage, even though that may appear to be the case. Sometimes I think, personally, that it’s not that isn’t necessarily the case.
Kamila
Okay, good advice there. So let’s move on to making a college list. So, you know, your parents have this Florida prepay, and you’re going to get the bright future Scholarship, which you did. So I guess you’re kind of expected to go to Florida, or did you think maybe I’ll branch out? So I guess I’m saying like, how did you choose the college even though it seems like you’d most likely choose a Florida College?
Scott
Yeah, so I was definitely encouraged strongly to attend to Florida College, although I did. The dream college I was talking about earlier was Vanderbilt Vanderbilt University. That was just a program. I think the area was amazing. I know I never went on a tour. But I’ve heard stories. I’ve known people that have gone to Vanderbilt, and they’ve said how great it was. Campuses don’t really. Yeah. And I really thought that that was going to be like my home. That was where you know, I wanted to go there so bad. I really turned up my senior year pretty much on full full gear, just to try to get into Vandy. And my parents were like, okay, Scott, you know, that’s like, that’s an expensive school that you’re choosing gets out of state. I don’t know what you’re thinking of. And I’m like, okay, okay, but what if I get in what if I can get a scholarship or some sort of financial aid, they’re like, Okay, if you can get in and get some financial aid, then, you know, we’re all for it, we’ll support you. I said, Okay, great. Of course, I did not put all my eggs in one basket. I put them in only two others. But I was not someone who did a shotgun application and put them out to every college in Florida. I had University of Florida as a U F as my, my solid choice, which you know, Vandy was my ambitious choice, U F was my second choice being that solid, solid school solid program, I have a really good chance of getting in. So that’s going to be my main school, probably. And then UCF, which was considered my backyard school, because I quite literally grew up down the street from UCF, was my safety net school. So I did have three, which wasn’t a whole lot. But I definitely was confident I’ll get into at least one of them. So that’s sort of where I ended up applying. So.
Kamila
Okay, and then in the end, where did you get accepted for and or rejected from?
Scott
So, we’ll start with the rejection. Of course, it was actually kind of funny, because Vanderbilt kind of ruined Star Wars for me. So it was the year was 2018. Well, yeah, it was 2018. Yeah. 2018 was when Star Wars The Last Jedi came out. And it was premiere night, I was with my friend. And we were going to see it. And it was awesome. The night house was to find out whether or not I got into Vanderbilt. So I was waiting for the email waiting for the email. My friends like Scott, don’t even look at your phone. Let’s watch the movie first before you look at your phone just in case. I don’t want anything ruined for you. I said, Okay, that’s a good point. Of course, I did not follow that. And I got the email. And I opened it. And sure enough, Vanderbilt said that they were not, you know, I was not going to move forward. And I was not accepted in to that class and of the class of 2022. And so that was definitely a little disheartening. And yeah, the movie I did not have a good opinion of the movie. No one. Yeah. I don’t know. And I think it was part I didn’t like Get in general, but also definitely part because my mood was way down. I was not really excited to watch it at that point. Anyway, that was fine. I, it was hard to hear at first, but I think definitely where I’m sitting now I’m really happy. I did not go to Vanderbilt, just because I would not want anything else. I don’t know, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else than I am right now. But in the moment is its thing. It kind of hurt my pride a bit, because I only ever really succeeded in high school. I never really failed. But that was like my first big failure. And so it kind of hurt a little bit. But I was like, okay, that’s fine. I was really ambitious, I probably wouldn’t have been able to afford it anyway. So let’s just move on. And sure enough, I got accepted into USF. I was very happy about that both my parents graduated from USF. So they were excited for me as well. And then I also then got accepted into UCF shortly after that. And getting both those acceptances. I was like, Okay, now I have a choice. Like, at least I’m not forced to go one place. I have a choice to sue schools that I wanted to go to. Anyway, so.
Kamila
Oh, so the Bright Futures I understand that applies to every Florida School. So you would have gotten all of your tuition covered at both
Scott
schools, right? Yes. All my tuition. Yeah, at 100%. So I ended up meeting the required testing scores and the Bright Futures hours to get covered at 100% for tuition at whichever school in Florida I attended.
Kamila
So why did you choose UCF over us?
Scott
Yeah, so I definitely wanted to go into engineering. That was my that was my goal was environmental engineering or energy engineering, which not too many people here have too often. So you have definitely would have been the choice to go for engineering. My dad graduated with engineering from USF. I’d gone I’d grown up a gators fan going to basketball games, going to football games. Everything was pointing to us, us, us and UCF kind of snuck in the back door and handed me a letter saying, hey, we want you to come here. And we’re going to give you a lot of money to do so. And then I was like, Oh, now I had a different choice. Because at first it was all you if I was getting ready to click except I’m going to you f and as soon as I got that, that monetary incentive, I started thinking of the the economics behind it. And what I what it would cost me to go to usf even if my tuition was covered, versus the cost of going to UCF, which was literally right down the street. And that’s where it became really interesting. And ultimately, I did decide to go with UCF because it saved me. I mean, just alone, it saved me $10,000 A year for housing expenses. And I stayed home. I lived at home for three years. So that’s already $30,000 right there that I saved by not going to USF.
Kamila
Oh, so do you mean like they gave you money for specifically your dorms or was it more of a stipend.
Scott
So they gave me a scholarship. It was an academic scholarship, specifically for academics. I could assume it was just my high test score. At the time for that class UCF average LSAT score was it wasn’t low, but it wasn’t like in the upper range. It was it was definitely below like FSU USF it was below those major universities. And so with a 1430 was definitely on the upper end of their average. And the my GPA was pretty much in like the top 5% or top 1% of applicants applying. And so they really, they really wanted me. So they gave me this academic scholarship. And I realized that with Florida, prepaid Florida Bright Futures and this scholarship if I didn’t live in the dorms at UCF, and I stayed home, which was literally home again, right down the street, like 10 minutes, 10 to 15 minutes. I could be making money going to school. And so that’s what I’ve been doing. For the past four years, I’ve been making a good bit of money for not having an actual job just by going to classes, which is what I’ll be doing anyway.
Kamila
Wow. That’s, that’s very interesting. Okay, so let’s well you’ve picked UCF so let’s go on to like actual college experience and such. So since UCF, was you call it your backyard, backyard choice backyard college, how familiar were you with the campus and how it was laid out compared to other people who were coming in maybe a few hours away or from a different state? Like how easy was it for you to navigate and stuff?
Scott
It was pretty easy. Now I did not spend a ton of time on the campus itself mainly because UCF is is one of those college towns where it’s pretty much its own zip code. It’s pretty large and everything of UCF is in one spot. Especially for undergrads, they’ve been expanding in recent years, there are certain satellite campuses, but you can pretty much expect to be in one local area. When you go to UCF, there’s not really a mix of other businesses or, or stores. Like a crossing streets, even like major streets, it’s all like one giant campus. And so that’s already what makes it a little, a little nice. The biggest advantage though, so it was pretty easy for me to figure out cuz I had been on campus before and I didn’t notice, and I did remember certain areas and like, okay, like I know where I’m at. But the biggest thing is, knowing the surrounding area, I think is the is the best thing. Because it’s easy to make friends that way, especially those who don’t know the area and are looking for things to do, you have a long list of suggestions, you’ve lived here your whole life. And you’re like, hey, you know, like, I know, this really cool spot where we can go kayaking, you know, and for what kind of springs like, let’s go. And so that makes it easy, just knowing the surrounding area, knowing where to eat, where everything is, you don’t have to worry about using a GPS. That is, you know, to me, using a GPS GPS is amazing. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think I would want anything else. If I could have one thing on my phone, it would be a GPS, but not having to rely on one, it’s just makes things a little bit less, it makes it so much less stressful, because you just know the area, you know where you’re going. I think that was like the biggest advantage was the surrounding area, not necessarily the campus itself.
Kamila
And you make one interesting point. So you lived right next to UCF. And I’m sure you had some like friends in your neighborhood or your school district as well who also live near UCF. So going into college, did you have a group of friends that you could rely on talk to and not be completely like, left out or lonely?
Scott
Yeah, so that was another really fortunate thing is I did have a lot of friends leave. They did go out of state. But I did have some that stayed. And you would really think that I would the kids from my high school that I was friends with that ended up going to UCF that I would stay in touch with especially my freshman year, and I did with maybe a few of them. But the biggest advantage for it being literally where I grew up my college being where I grew up, is the fact that my friends that maybe went to community college, or my friends that have already graduated and are you know, just starting jobs, or even friends that didn’t go to college at all, and they went straight into the workforce. They’re all still around. So I get to have my childhood friends around me while I’m going to college, making new friends as well as just a really supporting and inclusive atmosphere.
Kamila
That’s That’s amazing. And one more thing I’m curious about when it comes to starting college, your sister, you said she gave you advice more on her own experiences and like going into college and such. So how exactly what did she tell you? And how much do you think it helped you?
Scott
So her experiences were they came in the form of stories pretty much just funny story she had with her roommates, funny story she had, you know, maybe she went to FAU and if you know anything about FAU down south is that it is not a party school despite what some may think it’s not. But the very limited experiences she’s had at college parties, she gave some advice to me. But a lot of her advice did come from school. And it did it did come from those extra stories and her things were always, you know, make sure you sit at the front of class. That was her biggest thing is it engages you and you’re always right there in front of your professor, especially if you’re in a lecture hall. You know, when you’re in a lecture hall, of course with COVID going on, it’s a zoom Hall, and everyone’s the same size. But yeah, if for if we do ever go back to full capacity lecture halls, you can have upwards of 400 people in one room. And if you’re at the very front, you’re one of the largest faces that they can see. And so if you’re there constantly, and even if you go up and introduce yourself afterwards, it has such a lasting impression and building connections with your professors is essential to success in college and after college because of the connections they have. And I think that sometimes getting to know the professor is even more important than getting an A in the class. Hmm, yeah, that’s what she Yeah, that’s sort of what she imposed on me.
Kamila
That’s, that’s yeah, that is good advice. Because a lot of people don’t know how to exactly, you know, do stuff in college and I understand connections is one of the most important things in the workforce and just everything. Yeah, okay. So let’s see, where do you want to go with this? You’re interesting because your house is right there from us. If so you’re really close by. And I asked this for most people, but most people are like, far away from their home. So I’m interested to see how it worked out for you. And since you had friends at school as well, so you have some friends and like childhood friends you could hang out with, and maybe a couple friends who went to UCF with you. And then you have your parents who are just like, right there. So did you ever feel a wave of loneliness or like confusion? A lot of people feel lonely. They feel like, oh, maybe this is not the right place for me. I interviewed one girl and she felt like transferring out out of her first semester, she stayed and she loved the school. But a lot of people feel lonely. They feel like the school is not right for them. They’re not making friends fast enough for something. And they feel they just feel really lonely. So did you have that happen to you, despite having a bunch of people around you?
Scott
Um, yes and no. So I did. I always had, of course, my friend circle that, you know, wasn’t around UCF. That’s the people I grew up with. They were still there. So always have been the fallback too. But you do want to feel some sort of connection to your your university and a lot of that comes through friends and experiences you share in college, specifically with other students. So I did have some friends that I connected with, I went to my high school that also went to UCF when I was feeling a little bit lonely. I had this one friend, you such a good friend of mine, his name is Seth and freshman year, literally every morning, we would go to the Student Union together. And we just do homework for like hours until we had our classes and we just say Alright, see ya and but there’s like having that like interaction and that like friend around you, because UCF is a huge school UCF is we’re I think we’re approaching 70,000 enrollment right now. So when there’s 70,000 People at the school, you know, it can be you don’t recognize anyone around you, it can be a little it can, it can be lonely, it doesn’t matter if you’re walking around campus, and you’re alone, you don’t recognize anyone that that that is kind of sad. Some times it is kind of, you know, wow. Like I’m I’m really like insignificant here, I don’t really know anyone, but definitely having that support. But even when I didn’t have those friends around, I did feel a certain disconnect. Because I wasn’t living on campus at the time, I was living at home. So you have these people running, walking around better with each other’s roommates, or they’re in clubs with each other, or they have the similar experiences. Even if it’s, you know, you weren’t roommates, but you both live in on campus housing, you may hear about certain events, or you may automatically go to certain events, you have easier access to go to events, because you don’t have to drive and park, you can just walk to this event. And so there is a little bit of a disconnect from the university itself. And I did feel that loneliness. And a little bit of like, Am I really fitting in? Is this really like my place? For sure. I definitely felt some of that.
Kamila
Okay, so and I want to talk about extracurriculars, because a lot of people do find friends through extracurriculars. So can you tell me how you started to get involved if you didn’t have those roommates to tell you about events? And how did you? How did you decide to kind of climb yourself up to leadership position because you weren’t like that involved in high school was like trying to become the president of a club. So how what how did that change for you in college? Was it you on your own? Or was it like accidental?
Scott
Honestly, I, I attribute everything that I have gotten at UCF and Shiva at UCF, to my SOS, 1501 professors, the first class and that that I took at UCF, and it was a college introduction class, like how to be successful in college. It was just an elective that I just decided to take. What is it? SOS SLS? S l? Yeah. And the class itself, it was alright, you know, I kind of knew most of stuff that was already in it. But it was it was easy. It was a nice little easy college class where it gave me some confidence. But the biggest thing that came out of class was the professor who wasn’t like a he wasn’t a PhD. He was the assistant director of the of the Rec and Wellness Center, which is UCF gym. And he just taught that class, I guess, for whatever reason. He was talking about getting involved was the first week of class. And he mentioned Student Government, and he mentioned how student government is responsible for $19 million of student funds, or Yeah, student fees for funding different RS O’s. And as soon as he said $19 million, that’s a lot of responsibility. And I said, I want that responsibility. I want I want to if I want to be involved, I want some sort of, like purpose for it. I want I don’t want to just have like a social club. I want I do want that that purpose. So I was like, I’m going to get involved in student government. Now. I did not realize how difficult that was really going to be. Luckily, UCF offers a kind of like a student government training program. It’s called the Student Government Leadership Council. And it’s really just supposed to be taking a newer students and teaching them about leadership, specifically through Student Government, but it’s, so it’s like, kind of like student government, but like separated a bit. It’s more of like their little training program. And I saw that,
Kamila
are you shadowing people who are actually in student government,
Scott
kind of Yeah, it there that does play a part, you do get a mentor, and you do learn about positions that they hold, and how student government functions. But it also, they also tackle issues with, you know, resume critiquing, and public speaking, having different RSO O’s, or a registered student organization, from around campus come and talk about what they’re doing, and just accessing resources at UCF. And it’s very eye opening to see how much there is. And it’s also nice, though, because just by being a member of this council, there’s, there’s a good bit of us there was like, I think there were 60 of us that got selected to be on it. You you are setting yourself up, you’re making these connections to continue forward. And not all 60 of you are going to be guaranteed to go into Student Government afterwards. It’s still an application process, but it does help your chances. And you do learn a lot of useful skills. So I saw an application was about to close on, literally that Friday, it was probably a Thursday when I found out that I wanted to go join to the government and application closed on Friday. I’m like, Oh, I got to do this. So I submitted my application. And I got an interview. And I was like, Okay, great. You know, this is a first this is a step in the right direction. And literally from there. I mean, I hold, I think six leadership positions right now. And just that professor saying, you should, or, you know, just talking about student government, you should join an organization. Here’s an example of one student government. It started everything. For me, there’s a huge chain reaction that followed.
Kamila
So can you tell us a little bit about I did some searching on the UCF directory. And I saw you were like, you were in the Student Government. And I was looking through, I couldn’t find you. In the I think it was executive branch. Because I need to see if he’s like a student, government person. So I looked on the executive, you’re not there. I think I looked on the legislative or something, one of the two legislative or judicial and I found you on there. And I was like, Oh, there he is, I hope it’s him or someone with the same name. So can you tell us a little bit about your role in student government?
Scott
Yeah, so I am in the judicial branch. I’m an associate justice. Kind of interesting, because I really have no aspiration to go into law. I, you know, I’m a business major. So as a business major doing, you know, upholding students writes, who knows? No, I know. But pretty much what happened was, after this training program, I applied to be in the judicial branch, because I just found it really interesting. I found what they did to be very interesting, specifically, being a member of the Student Conduct board, where anyone who violates university policy, they pretty much get put in front of a panel of two students and two faculty members, they get charges slap on their record, and it’s pretty much like a mini trial. They have an opening statement. There’s evidence, we ask questions, there’s witnesses, closing statement, and then we deliberate and we recommend a sanction for them, which ranges from warning to expulsion. And it’s I thought that sounded really interesting. I thought, honestly, that’s probably one of the most interesting things I found about student government. And so I really wanted to pursue that opportunity. So I applied to be a justice, right out of that training program. And I didn’t get it the first time. I didn’t get the second time. I didn’t get it the third time. And then I got it the fourth time, and I was I was pretty happy from the from that. And so pretty much what I do as a justice is we do uphold students rights across campus, in the form of parking appeals is the biggest one. It sounds really boring. And I’m actually the Chair of the President’s Committee, which is all about parking appeals. And so UCF generates millions of dollars of revenue a year just alone on parking tickets, and we are the final appellate court or decision on whether or not you have to pay those parking tickets. So we do that. We also advise students going through the student conduct process. So while we are a member of the Student Conduct board, and we do hand down sanctions, we also serve as advisors because we have such a unique experience of being on the board itself. We’re able to provide a unique perspective to help students through the process because it’s very long. It’s very complicated. If you you know, if I tell you, you’ve been accused of plagiarism, and you have to go in front of all these people now and say, explain why you’re not in violation of plagiarizing, it might be a little intimidating, you might not know exactly what to say. And so where we come in, as we sort of help out those people, and they can come to us for assistance. We do a couple other things regarding like, understanding your rights and the student student body constitution and the Student Handbook. But that’s primarily where we’re at and what we do.
Kamila
Okay, the one the one thing that really got me was millions of dollars in parking tickets. Yeah. Oh, I understand. UCF was huge, but that’s like a lot. Wow. Okay, so you’re, so what did you describe it? As you said, Junior year plus, senior year?
Scott
Is that what you guys like my junior and a half junior and a half? Okay. So
Kamila
does that mean you’re graduating in three and a half years?
Scott
So I’m graduating next fall? So I’m graduating. So in? Yes, technically, I would be graduating in three and a half years from when I started. So yeah, next fall of 20. of fall 2021. Should be my graduation semester.
Kamila
I see. Okay, so Junior plus senior year, we’ll say we’ll say it like that. So Junior plus senior year, by this time, have you had any internships or I know you guys are really close to Orlando, and I think you guys have like a campus on there. So have you done anything within the city any like, job opportunities, perhaps in college? So did you get involved outside of campus?
Scott
So involvement outside of campus? Yes, and no. I did get a job with UCF as well. I’m an RA. So I’m actually currently now living on campus, but I live there for free. So I’m not really paying a whole lot. And I get paid to live on campus. But that’s why I got a job with UCF in terms of jobs outside, because I was making money from my scholarship. And I was saving money from not living on campus. My first three years, I really didn’t have, I didn’t really need a job because I was I was making enough money to pay for everything else, and then some and save a lot towards my savings. So I didn’t get a job my first three years. And now though, I’ve definitely started I know the importance of internships. And I want to stress the importance of internships because internships are more important than GPA in college, at least for those who are not planning to go to grad school. If you plan on getting a job, right after college internships, as that’s what you need, you need an internship. So for business majors, we happen to be very fortunate because there is a high demand for business interns. And they get paid, they get paid pretty good sometimes. So I have I got an internship, but I lost it because it COVID. So I wasn’t able to actually start it. But I I went through the interview process, and I didn’t get it. But now I actually have one coming up. And it’s a sales internship. So we’ll, we’ll see if I get an interview. So we’ll see if I can get that one for next summer. The biggest thing, though, is it’s never too early to start getting internships. And start as early as you can, because a lot of people recruit in the fall, and the internship itself doesn’t start until the summer after. So it’s not really like a job, you can just apply, interview and get hired and start two weeks later. It’s really like a set thing.
Kamila
And I have one question. So you seem to know a lot about like, how to make the most of your college experience with, you know, internships and making connections with your professors. and such. So did this knowledge come from perhaps your sister? Or did it come from being an SGA? So like, where did you get that like, not like practical knowledge for the future in your work field.
Scott
So it really came from. I’m also a member of the College of Business Student Ambassadors and being the College of Business at UCF. To me, while it’s the largest college at UCF, it’s one of the largest business undergrad programs in the nation. And it’s run by Dean Charlie Dean Paul jolly. And I think his curriculum and how he runs the college itself, at UCF, is what really taught me a lot of it and being in the program that I just mentioned, a student ambassador for the College of Business, you get like direct access to the higher ups of the College of Business and faculty and staff. So when you’re around those people, they teach you a lot and they teach you a lot of practical lessons. It’s all about it’s all about the practicality. Pretty much everything I’m taught in the College of Business is how to be successful in the future. And it’s less about hard skills, getting a getting You know, making sure you know how to do all these, like example problems, the the major that I picked, it’s presentations, it’s public speaking, it’s learning how to negotiate. It’s these practical skills that most business majors are going to have to use in the future. Anyway, I’m just making sure to learn them now. But to answer your question specifically about learning about what connections and based on networking that came just from the sheer number of people that I’ve met, and seeing and asking for, you know, their advice and their feedback on things, and I got recommended most of the positions I hold, I was recommended, I was recommended to apply to I was never, I never really sought out a position except Student Government, everything else was you should apply for this, I think you’d be really good at it. And after applying, and I got it, I was like, Oh, wow, like, here’s another thing that I’m able to do, and I meet so many people that way. So the best thing to do once you get in was to get involved in college. But once you get involved, make sure you build those meaningful connections and follow up with people don’t just join something. And then go doormen join something, get to know the people in it and see who they know and see where their goals are. And if any of your goals align.
Kamila
Okay, that’s actually really great advice. And I mean, I’m sure it’s going to help you in the future a lot. And one thing I want to I one thing I want to discuss here quickly before we come to an end here is your you were a stem, I guess we could categorize it as STEM stem person in high school. And then you come into college and you were energy engineering. And then now you’re in business, this school has taught you like a lot of practical stuff. So how did you how did you find that? Why did you change from engineering? Because you said you like stem? So why did you change from that to business?
Scott
Yeah, honestly, I sometimes I wonder why and the major I am. But I was like I was really good at math, you Everything was so analytical. For me, everything came naturally. It was I never had a study hard for math or science. It’s just something that was natural. And I really thought that’s what I was gonna end up doing. And I love to tell this story because UCF, the building, they have two engineering buildings and two business buildings and engineering one and Business Administration, one, they connect. And so I was in engineering one, just walking around, it was actually my orientation day, I was just walking through engineering one. And I quite literally walked from engineering one to Business Administration, one. And I said, You know what, I think I want to be a business major said, I don’t think I want to stick with engineering, I just don’t think it’s gonna yield what I want out of my life, I think I’m going to want a job that I can, you know, make my own hours almost, and have build relationships and not it be so demanding and high pressure all the time and working with numbers and equations. And while I’d love that, and I love, I love to do them, and they’re and they’re fun. I just I don’t see myself doing that for the rest of my life. But business is so you know, it’s, it’s a notion, it really is I mean, business can you can go into anything, if you have a business degree. And you can, there’s so much vertical movement, that it’s, it’s really what you put into it. So if you dedicate yourself, and you put all your time and energy into self development, and leadership development, you can really be successful. And I’ve really found that in this business program, and I do not regret switching at all. And I really think and you know, layman’s terms. I think it really came down to physics as well. I did like math, but I did not like physics in the concepts of physics. I like the equations. But I did not like having to learn the concepts of physics as well, that was also a big part.
Kamila
So do you literally just walk from the engineering part to the business part and said, let me try this. Did you? Did you automatically say like, oh, you know, the building looks nice. Let’s try it out. Or did you like attend a few classes in business? And then say yes,
Scott
yeah, no. So I, when I walked into that building, something, just something clicked was my orientation day. So I went to my engineering orientation leader, and I said, Is there any way I could go to the business orientation instead? And he’s like, um, I guess and so I just went to the business orientation and it I just liked it. I don’t know something about it. I was like, Okay, I think I made the right choice here.
Kamila
Okay. Very interesting. Okay, so, I’m coming to an end here. And there’s one thing that I do with everybody. So I want you to give two pieces of advice. One is for current high school students, they can be any year freshman, sophomore, junior senior, and What would you give them? What advice would you give them now as a high schooler, either to just enjoy, like, do well in high school, prepare for college or just do well, like, I don’t know, life lessons or something. And then same thing for current college students, you know, people who are going into college and don’t know what they’re doing, or perhaps you’re in your first year right now, and you you’re confused, you don’t like it or something you don’t know what to do don’t know what to do. So what advice would you give for those two groups of people.
Scott
So for high school students, right now, if you can take those AP classes, if you’re willing and able, and if your school offers them, it’s, I promise you, it’s worth it, it will prepare you so much. Not only will it save you time and money, but it will prepare you for the workload of college because, well, I think AP classes are harder than current classes that I took my at the beginning my undergrad, mainly just because the amount of work that you have, it teaches you a lot of time management, which is something you’re really going to need because there’s not a whole lot of structure to college, it’s really, here’s your class, here’s your syllabus, I’ll see you on test days, or I’ll see you in lectures, there’s no accountability, it’s all on you. So AP classes definitely teach that as well as save a ton of money. So take those, but also, don’t kill yourself trying to get into any sort of undergrad program or any college of your choice. You know, I understand you might you do have those high ambitions and high aspirations I had myself right, I really wanted to go to Vanderbilt. But if you constantly, if that’s your only goal is to get into those really elite undergrad programs, or the college of your dreams, you’re missing out on so much life currently enjoy, enjoy high school while you can. But know that no matter where you go, what college you go to any undergrad program, you can make a name for yourself anywhere, you don’t have to have the giant name of Harvard undergrad behind you. You can make a name for yourself in any college. And I really hope that no matter where you end up, that’s what you really approach it with, is I may not have gotten into my dream college, but I’m here at this college, and I’m going to make the best of my time, I’m not going to regret anything I do here. For those that are already in college, or about to be starting college. Get involved. That’s the biggest advice whether you are already on campus, or you’re living off campus and commuting. Even if you’re on Zoom, right? If we’re on Zoom, and you’re in zoom University, like the joke goes around, no. Get involved in any way you can meet people get to know them network, come friends with them, become friends with their friends, and become a student leader. biggest advice there, I have unlocked so many opportunities, I’ve never really had to apply for an internship, I’ve always been referenced and then given an interview from there. And that’s because I know a lot of people, and they know my skill set and they just they recommend me. So if you’re a student leader, you get so many advantages, and you develop so many soft skills that are going to be needed if you’re going to go into the workforce later on, for sure. And it definitely helps you become a more competitive candidate. And it builds confidence. But the most important thing for college students is to find your passion. So you don’t necessarily have to know what you’re going to be after college or what you’re going to do, what career you’re going to go into. But please try to find your passion. If you wait so long, you might not you might regret what you end up going into. Or you might regret doing something or not doing something. Hobbies are a great way to find your passion, you might not be able to make something completely out of it. But if you find that one thing that really says I want you want to do this for the rest of your life, or I want you to incorporate this, do it, hold on to it, because you’re going to want it later in life. You’re going to want that direction and you’re going to want that motivation to do to go above and beyond that everything that you do.
Kamila
That’s that’s extremely good advice. You sound like a very old person who’s there’s a lot of life there. I still think. Yeah, I’m sure you do. Thank you so much for coming today.
Scott
Awesome. Thank you so much. This was great.
Kamila
Thank you. Have a good day. Bye bye. You too. Bye. And that concludes my interview with Scott make sure to subscribe and stay in tune. Next week I’ll be releasing an interview with a girl who’s currently enrolled in Johns Hopkins University. You do not want to miss that. Hope to see you then.