Before
I dive into the required stipulations of this post (as so elegantly
outlined by Prof. Wall) I want to share, briefly, a few things about
myself for those students who do not know and/or have had me in their
class. Some of the things may/may not overlap with the required
questions so please forgive me!
My
name is Theodore Johnson; I am 22 years old, an Ypsilanti native, and a
graduating senior here at Eastern Michigan University (EMU). I am an
Aviation Management major with a concentration in Aircraft Dispatch and a
minor in General Business.
I
graduated from Ypsilanti High School in 2012 as the 4th in my class (of
260 students). I had no intentions of attending EMU when I first began
thinking about and applying to college during the beginning of my senior
year (September 2011); I actually was torn between attending the United
States Air Force Academy (USAFA) and the University of Toledo (UT).
However, I lost my mother unexpectedly in November of 2011, and after that I hit
what seemed to be an insurmountable roadblock (at this time I had only
applied to two universities). I lost all motivation for school
activities, class, collegiate preparation, and ceased thinking about the future in general
because I was emotionally and mentally 'stuck'. With the support of my
closest friends and family, I was able to finally gather myself after
4-6 weeks of being in a deep state of morose after enduring such a traumatic loss. By this time I was entering the new
year (2012) and was faced with an ultimatum: either attend college
out-of-state or attend EMU so I can stay local and raise my younger
brother (who was 10 at the time). Obviously, I chose the latter and I
have never regretted doing so; enduring such a loss at that age helped
mature my perspective/mindset, bestowed a sense of responsibility, and provided other vital life skills in an expeditious
manner. That, coupled with life experiences, natural maturity, and
guidance from my father, helped mold me into the person I am today.
Upon
my admittance to EMU I enrolled as a Biology major with a Chemistry
minor in order to align with the pre-medical concentration so I
could fulfill my goal of becoming an MD/DO in the future. After the
conclusion of my Emergency medical internship (facilitated by Saint
Joseph Mercy Hospital), my junior year came to a close, which meant that
I was finished with the medical portion of my collegiate career.
However, my decision to switch my major to aviation was derived as a
result of this internship and was only strengthened by the
communication, advice, and personal observation(s) of the medical
professionals I was in constant contact with. Long-story short, I weighed out all
the pros/cons of changing majors, conferred with my father and closest
friends, evaluated/analyzed my life goals, and eventually made the
switch (which I am extremely elated to have done so)! Aviation has
always been a strong passion of mine, but the conclusion of the medical
internship empowered me to realize that I truly wanted to pursue this
passion and turn it into a career first, and then attend medical school
in the distant future.
Fast-forwarding
to the present academic year, I am the current Secretary of the
professional international Aviation Fraternity, namely Alpha Eta Rho, Sigma Chi here
at EMU as well as the VP of Health & Safety for the Epsilon Mu
chapter of Theta Chi. I have only been a part of Greek Life for two
years, but the experiences, people, and knowledge I have attained from
joining have proved to be invaluable. This is one aspect of college that
I truly wish I would have engaged in early on. However, throughout my tenure here at EMU, I have realized that
in order to maximize your potential and eventual success, you must not only find yourself first, but you must also solidify your
foundation, skills, and goals to be able to expand your horizon and
gradually integrate yourself into the other facets offered by the collegiate environment as they require a delicate balance.
Thank you for reading and I look forward to a successful semester with you all!
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