Hi, my name is Jaiden DeBoe and I am a freshman at SIUE. I am from Fairview Height, Illinois, so my home is not too far from the school. This helps me stay in contact with my friends and family members.
Growing up, I was never really a social person. I preferred to keep to myself and not truly express who I was. I was always looking forward to college because I knew it would be a fresh start for me, a chance for me to reinvent myself. Even though I was nervous at first, I started showing up to events, I signed up for clubs, I even applied for a fraternity.
Now that I am here, I want to get the full experience. I want to make new friends, explore my interests, and just try things that I’ve never done before. My goals for the next few years are to break out of my comfort zone and explore everything that the campus has to offer. I also hope to get an internship that is catered to my major in a year or two. That way I can get real world experience in the work field that I want to go into.
After I get my master’s degree in computer science in 2029, I will start working towards my career goal of one day working for Google. I am hoping that I will be able to work on the development of artificial intelligence when I am in the work force.
For now, I will concentrate on my studies, getting involved on campus, and meeting new people. I want to get the whole college experience while I’m here. I want to graduate knowing that I appreciated college while I could. It may be stressful right now, just because I am trying to balance school with friends and activities, but I know I can push through it. I have made it through similar situations in high school, with balancing different aspects of my life. If I could make it through then, I know that I can do the same now.
The one thing that is pushing me to keep moving forward is knowing my own potential. I was always a straight A student throughout high school. This was with little to no studying as well. If I can do that, college won’t be much of a challenge. I know that I can pull through. The key is to just take college day by day.