I have always been a very mindful and persistent person. Ever since my first tour of the University of Richmond, I knew that is where I wanted to continue my education. I knew and I set a plan: a plan to attend my dream school.
Upon admittance to the university, I began thinking about what sorts of majors or programs I would want to pursue. Shocker: what I had originally planned for myself is vastly different from what I have decided to declare as my major now.
The Robins School of Business is one of the most coveted schools within the University of Richmond, and reasonably so. The business program is intense and students who graduate from the Robins School of Business are always set up for success. Naturally, I chose to pursue the business school as a first year student as I believed it would provide me with the best resources and opportunities upon graduation. What I forgot, however, was that there were other fields of study that I excelled in greater than math and problem solving.
As the business school has several prerequisite courses necessary for admission, I decided to take them during my first and second semester of freshman year. Despite struggling through the business classes, I maintained accord in my other classes and did exceedingly well in my reading and writing based classes. However, this did not stop me to keep trying business school classes in the hopes that they would get better. They did not.
After my first year, I quickly evaluated what I felt that I was missing in my education. What I yearned for were classes where I felt more comfortable – classes where I could discuss current events, new ideas, and things outside the world of business. I missed my English, government, psychology, and history classes from high school. I needed to feel comfortable again. In order to get back on track, I chose to take two classes during Maymester: political science and journalism. I immediately felt more comfortable and passionate about those classes and made the decision that this is what I wanted to do.
During my difficult time freshman year, many upperclassmen reached out to me and suggested the Jepson School of Leadership Studies, which is something I would have never considered on my own. They told me about the unique interdisciplinary aspects of the Jepson major and all the school had to offer. This in turn encouraged me to take two leadership classes this semester: Leadership and the Humanities and Leadership and the Social Sciences. I was hooked immediately.
During late September, I applied to be a part of the Jepson School of Leadership Studies which has proven to be my best decision thus far. The alumni network is exceedingly amazing and strong and the school provides incredible resources. For example, since my admission in mid-October, I have already been to one of the special programs that was offered to Jepson majors which assisted us in setting up our LinkedIn professional profiles, and we even got to connect with Jepson alumni! In Jepson, I will have opportunities I could have never have dreamed of: conducting an independent study, working on research with professors, and completing an internship. The list goes on and on.
My main message to (mostly) first years: do not be discouraged if your plan fails. There are so many opportunities to explore your passions at the University of Richmond. Although it may take a few tries and a few bumps in the road, it’s all worth it in the end.
Sydney Lake
Bachelor of Arts in Leadership Studies with a double major in Political Science and a minor in journalism.
