Showing posts with label Student story. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Student story. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

College of Engineering Insights

Michael, Hokie Ambassador and Civil Engineering major.


Virginia Tech is a university that consists of seven colleges for transfer and freshman students. New students can choose from 70 programs of study within these seven colleges.

The College of Engineering is one of the seven colleges that offers majors for freshman and transfer students at VT.

One of the great things about Virginia Tech's College of Engineering is its philosophy: "Hands-on, Minds-on." This philosophy is demonstrated in the classroom and the Ware Lab, which is a building where students can work on their various ground-breaking design projects. From autonomous robotics to energy-saving devices, hundreds of engineering students frequent the Ware Lab for hands-on learning.

Learn more about the Ware Lab here: www.eng.vt.edu/warelab

Check out the College of Engineering majors and see if anything sparks your interest!

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Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Sam's story: "At Virginia Tech you are not a transfer student, you are a Hokie"

By Samantha, a student in the Pamplin College of Business
Major: Hospitality and Tourism Management

I became a Hokie in the fall of 2009 after spending two years at Tidewater Community College in Virginia Beach, Va.

The whole idea of starting at community college and then transferring to a four-year school was not what I had in mind as a high school senior. But as I know now and am constantly reminded, things do not always go as planned.

Staying home for the first two years of my college education turned out to be a blessing in disguise. During that time I grew up, and I came to realize that I was not as ready to leave home as I thought I was. In fact, after I had finished with my associates at TCC, I started to second-guess my decision to go away for my remaining two years. I was comfortable at home, I had friends and family and a continuous support system whenever I needed. I felt like I was leaving everything I had worked so hard to build over the past two years just to have to start again.

All it took was one last visit to Virginia Tech's campus before I was scheduled to start in the fall to reassure me that Tech was the right fit. I learned very quickly that at Virginia Tech you are not a transfer student, you are a Hokie. Everyone is a Hokie and we are all a part of the Hokie Nation. Orange and Maroon constantly flood the campus and the sense of community that takes place in Blacksburg is unlike anywhere else.

Virginia Tech has taught me more than the lessons learned inside the classroom. I have learned how important it is to be opened minded to all opportunities you are presented with.

To all you potential and new Hokies out there, I'd like to share a few things that I have learned since becoming a Hokie. Whether you chose to become a Hokie as well by transferring to Virginia Tech, I hope you will take these small pieces of advice with you:

  • Be proactive; take the time to introduce yourself and meet with your professors and advisors. It will help so much in the long run.
  • Don't hesitate to ask questions. Ask as many as you'd like and ask them more than once if you have to.
  • And finally, don't blink. Wherever you decide to transfer, know your time as a student is going to fly by. Make sure you take the time to make the experiences all your own. Fill your time with memories, whether good or bad, and get involved.

Remember, you are the only person responsible for your transfer experience.

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Thursday, November 4, 2010

Pamplin College of Business Insights

Michelle, 2010 Admissions Advisor, discusses the Pamplin College of Business.

Virginia Tech is a university that consists of seven colleges for transfer and freshman students. New students can choose from 70 programs of study within these seven colleges.

Pamplin College of Business is one of the seven colleges that offers majors for freshman and transfer students at VT. The Pamplin College of Business offers 5 of the 7 most recruited majors at VT. And, the college has its own
career services director to assist students with
career development.

There are study abroad and internship opportunities for students in the Pamplin College of Business. Also, there are more than 20 student organizations specific to the Pamplin College of Business.

U.S. News and World Report's annual survey of undergraduate programs, "America's Best Colleges" ranked the Pamplin College of Business No. 42 among the top 50 business schools.

This college has 8 majors:
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Thursday, February 11, 2010

At Virginia Tech living off campus is practically living on campus

By Tyler Murphy
2009 Graduate
2009 Admissions Advisor


Off campus housing may as well be considered on campus housing. Blacksburg is a small community and living within the immediate area, the farthest I ever had to travel was approximately 2 miles. With the Blacksburg Transit bus system, getting to campus was easily accessible and time efficient.

In fact, I quickly found that I was filling my gas tank a couple of times every few months. I rarely needed my car even living off campus because of the options made available to me. If public transportation isn't your thing, you'll find people biking all over town. And trust me, there is a bike rack every few hundred feet so no need to worry about where to put your bike once you arrive to your next class or other destination. Even the Blacksburg Transit buses have bike racks on the front.

More Info:

Housing
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Thursday, February 4, 2010

Whether living on or off campus, the award-winning dining is a must

By Erika, a junior in the College of Liberal Arts & Human Sciences
Major: sociology
Minor: psychology

Virginia Tech's dining halls have a variety of food options, all of which are amazing! I enjoy West End Market; I love the pasta and burgers there. I also like Hokie Grill & Co., which has a Chick-fil-A and Pizza Hut.

Whether you live on campus or not, I would personally suggest getting a Dining Plan. Although I live off campus, I usually eat lunch and get snacks on campus. I also grab an occasional dinner on campus as well. Most places on campus only accept Dining Plans and Dining Dollars. If you do not purchase a Dining Plan, but find yourself wanting to eat on campus you can add Dining Dollars to your Hokie Passport either throughHokieSpa or Hokie Passport machines located in the dining halls.

Virginia Tech has a variety of options when it comes to Dining Plans, it is important to choose the one best for you. Some things to consider are: whether or not you will be living on campus, how often will you buy groceries or cook for yourself, and if you prefer to go out to eat.

When you get to campus, I hope you give Virginia Tech's national award-winning dining a try!

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Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Virginia Tech: Think outside of the classroom

By Erika, a junior in the College of Liberal Arts & Human Sciences
Major: sociology
Minor: psychology


In my career at Virginia Tech, I have been very active with the university as well as the community. I am President of the Sociological Association at Virginia Tech (SAV) and a Transfer Orientation Guide Leader (TOGL). Both of these positions allow me to hone my leadership and communications skills while having a good time! I have also gained great networks but best of all friends.

Although leadership positions and memberships to organizations are important, service learning and volunteerism is as well. Service learning and volunteerism are amazing learning experiences that everyone should have. I take part in the annual BIG EVENT, which is a community wide service project, which involves the students of Virginia Tech and the Blacksburg and surrounding communities.

Community outreach is significant at Virginia Tech but so is Virginia Tech's global initiatives. With all the options Virginia Tech has there should be no problem for anyone to find their place in the Hokie Family, while making great impacts in others lives as well as their own.

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Tuesday, January 19, 2010

James' Story: transferring to VT was a smooth transition despite obstacles

By James, a senior in the College of Liberal Arts & Human Sciences
Major: sociology

Transferring to Virginia Tech has to be one of the best things that I've done in my life thus far. As a high school junior in 2002, I already had my sights locked on Virginia Tech, but a lack of doing homework on a consistent basis landed me with a denial letter and several dashed hopes during the last few months of my adolescent educational career. Deep down, however, I knew that I would be seeing Blacksburg again and that the title “Hokie” simply had to belong to me some day. Therefore, I made my decision to do everything possible to achieve that dream and enrolled in a community college. A few years of hard work later, everything paid off.

My best experiences with the transfer process had to be with the individual care and attention that I received throughout the administrative journey. In the spring of 2007, I received a personal telephone call from an admissions officer welcoming me to Virginia Tech. After I had finished bouncing off of my walls and ceiling with excitement, I sat down and began to realize the work ahead; transferring credits, moving, learning a new curriculum, the list goes on. I received a different kind of phone call shortly thereafter, however. This one had less than stellar news: I was being deployed to Iraq two weeks into my would be first semester at school. The understanding from both the admissions office and the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences was phenomenal. With a few simple phone calls and emails, my transfer package was put on hold and I was issued a very heartfelt “Godspeed” by a staff member that I had never even met. I set my sights once again on Virginia Tech, but this time I had a year and a war to get through first.

As the fall of 2008 quickly approached, I was still deployed and out of communication with the “real world” for days and weeks at a time. This didn't hurt my confidence that, when I finally arrived home, things wouldn't all be in place and set for my first semester. Sure enough, when I arrived home 32 hours before my first class started, I, without any significant effort on my own part, had a housing assignment prepared, a complete class schedule with all syllabi waiting in my in-box, and several emails from professors and the Transfer Student Orientation team welcoming me home. Bear in mind that I had yet to meet any of the faculty or staff at Virginia Tech. Never had I felt so well treated or at home (when I hadn't even been there long enough to call it “home”).

I believe that my take-away from all of this is: Virginia Tech showed me that it really was worth it to pursue my goal of becoming a Hokie. The people that populate this great university's offices and classrooms really do care and are not afraid to go out of their way to show it. I received the personal attention that I would attest only to the smallest of schools (normally) and I will forever be grateful that I had all of these wonderful people that wanted nothing more but than to help me become the Hokie that I am today.

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Thursday, December 10, 2009

VT helps prepare you for that next step after college

By Tyler Murphy
2009 Graduate
2009 Admissions Advisor

With Virginia Tech being one of the few universities that has a free standing career services building, the amount of options and opportunities the service allows are endless. I used career services to help tailor my resume so it would be presentable in not only applying to grad school, but also for the professional world as well.

An individual from career services sat down with me to discuss and go over what I should keep or get rid of to make my resume look more professional. After multiple visits to the center, I learned of an array of other services they provide. Offering everything from mock interviews to
career fairs, the career service center has everything you will need to prepare for that next step after college.

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Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Erika's Story: College of Liberal Arts & Human Sciences

By Erika, a junior in the College of Liberal Arts & Human Sciences
Major: sociology
Minor: psychology

I am a sociology major with a concentration in inequality, and also a minor in psychology. Sociology is a wonderful field to study because it allows one to get a greater experience of diversity; this is also a huge part of what the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences does. The faculty and staff within the college and department do a wonderful job at getting this experience across. I have enjoyed every sociology class I have had, especially Dr. Ellington Graves as I think he is an amazing professor.

The faculty are a huge part of the department but we would be nowhere without the hard working staff that keeps everything running smoothly. The academic advisors do an outstanding job of keeping the students and faculty on track. I also have had the opportunity of getting close with a lot of these individuals because I am the president of SAV, the Sociological Association at Virginia Tech. SAV is just one of the many opportunities students have to gain outside knowledge and networks through the sociology department.
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