Minors: Chinese
Road to Mount Union
I was born and raised in Stark County and growing up I always wanted to attend college at Mount Union. One of the main motivators in pushing me to check out Mount Union were alumni Jeff and Adrian Thornberry. They would always tell me stories about Mount Union and once I finally visited campus I instantly fell in love with it. I chose to attend Mount Union for numerous reasons. I wanted to attend a university that was near my hometown, had a low student to professor ratio, and somewhere that cared about us as an individual rather than being just a number like I would have been if I would have attended a state university.
Financial Help
Mount Union is so generous with the financial aid that they give to each student. My ultimate decision in attending college was to find somewhere that would be affordable and not too much to attend. The money that I received from Mount Union and a private scholarship helped to bring the cost of attendance at Mount Union to be lower than the cost of attendance of a state school. I thought it was quite interesting that it was cheaper for me to attend a private institution than a state university.
Individual time with Professors
What I like most about Mount Union is the individualized attention that each student receives from faculty and staff. Professors go out of their way to make sure that each student not only understands the material, but also masters the material as well. The friendliness of the staff is also awesome here at Mount Union. Everyone wants to see you succeed which is a wonderful, instead of just being a number.
Center of Students Success
The Center for Student Success, specifically Marci Muckleroy, has helped me to adjust to college life the most. Coming into college, one of my biggest issues was deciding what I was going to major in and how to properly manage my time. Marci was a great resource to have on campus and is very knowledgeable. She has helped me to narrow down the major choices and I thank her for that.
Mount Union Pride
The pride of our campus sets us apart from other colleges. Everything that we do here at Mount Union is with pride whether it be with our outstanding academics, nationally ranked sports teams, Greek life, or our extracurricular activities. There is deep pride and appreciation of our campus that makes Mount Union a one of a kind college.
Consider All of Your Options
I would consider all options to each school and consider the pros and cons of each school. Visiting a school more than once is a great way to get a feel for the campus. Doing an overnight stay is also a great way to see if you like the campus because you can sit in on a class, eat in our cafeteria, and stay with a student in a residence hall.
Studying Abroad in Shanghai China
One experiential learning opportunity I had was last semester. I studied abroad in Shanghai, China for seven weeks. This was by far my most favorite experience at Mount Union because I had the opportunity to put my Chinese skills to use for seven weeks. I also had an amazing experience tutoring Chinse students English. This was such a rewardable and beneficial experience to have. Hopefully I will be able to study abroad again soon. My goal is to become multi-lingual within the next 10 years.
Favorite Course
My favorite class at Mount Union so far is Intermediate Chinese. This class is just a blast! We have a lot of fun and learn a lot from Dr. Litong Chen. The class is very interactive and many times throughout the semester the class is taught fully in Chinese. Going to class each Tuesday and Thursday is quite rewarding.
Favorite Professor
My favorite professor here at the University of Mount is Dr. Michael Zwilling. Having Dr. Zwilling was not only very knowledgeable in Statistics, but he helped to connect us to the content we were learning. My favorite part about Dr. Zwilling is the jokes he would tell us in class. He made learning Statistics interesting and fun at the same time! Dr. Zwilling is also very dedicated to helping students succeed inside and outside of the classroom. He was always willing to help me in times of need. How do you feel your experience with the Integrative Core will make you a better professional in your field? The Integrative Core is a great way to make each student well rounded in the courses that they pursue here. I personally believe that the Integrative Core is a great way to make a student knowledgeable in many areas of study throughout their time here at Mount Union.
Ultimate Goals
In the future, I would first like to become a middle school math and science teacher and work in the field for about five years. After that, I would like to then go on to receive my master’s and PhD in Curriculum and Instruction. My ultimate career goal is to become a Curriculum Director. Mount union is great at preparing each student for success. My favorite part about our education department is having the opportunity to get out into the field in your first education class at Mount Union. It helps the student to see if this is the field they would like to pursue.