Kaitlin Doyle #1People know my name. Well, people in my high school do, anyway. I used to fade into the shadows of every other high school student, that is, until I joined journalism. I slowly became known a little more and am now recognizable simply because of the picture at the top of my feature column. I get pointed at while walking down the hall, and I hear whispers of things like, “Isn’t that the girl in the paper?” It has given me a taste of local, very local, celebrity-ism, but I’ve still remained just another high school student.
For those of you who don’t know me as the “How-to Girl” from The Kearsley Eclipse, my name is Kaitlin Doyle. I live in Flint, Mich., and I’m a senior at Kearsley High School. I’ll go ahead and answer this now, because I usually get asked – no, I do not see bullets whizzing by me on the way to school. Flint isn’t as bad of a city as many people think, and neither is Detroit. No doubt I want to get out of Flint, but it’s not a terrible place to live. I’ll be staying in Flint at least until I graduate college because tuition rates for out of state schools are outrageous. I will be majoring in journalism and minoring in English. If my journalistic dream falls through, I wouldn’t mind being an English teacher. Instilling grammar and language skills in children would be satisfying for me. I will most likely write for my college’s newspaper and try finding a part-time job. Working for a newspaper while still in college would be a dream come true. Heck, I’d even be happy with an internship.
Although it might seem I’m being nonchalant about my dreams of being a journalist coming to an end, it’s actually my biggest concern for the future. I often think what the future will be like once I spend half my life savings on college. Will I find a job right away? What if journalism goes out of style by the time I graduate? What if my degree isn’t enough to get a decent job? It’s hard not to think about the future when graduation is right around the corner. I do, however, think I’m somewhat unique with this fear because the majority of my friends are only afraid of the near future and are hardly thinking about years down the road. I, of course, have concerns about the near future as well, but being successful is important to me. I haven’t gone to school for 12 years and will not go through college just to fail later in life.
Aside from after college, I’m also worried about college life. Since I’m not exactly going away to college and won’t have to stay in a dorm, my college fears are probably somewhat different from other students’. I worry about money sometimes. My family makes enough to put me through college, but what if something happens and I can’t go to school? I don’t exactly picture myself flipping burgers for the rest of my life, and the only way to avoid this, or another job just like it, is with a college degree.
Not only do I worry about paying for college, but also about graduating. I have faith in myself, but will admit I am terrible at math. (Hence why I’m majoring in journalism and not calculus.) I haven’t had a math class since my junior year and fear I will forget how to do the simplest of problems by the time my college math class rolls around. My fears might be somewhat uncommon among other students, but I’m sure some students worry about the same things once in a while. Regardless if other students do or do not have the same fears, I know we all have different ways to cope with our worries.
For me, easing my fears is simple as long as I plan ahead. If I look at my life as a whole, it’s easy to see that I should not worry too much. I know I’ll be able to pay for college, and I’m pretty sure I’ll find some sort of job because of my college degree. Even if I don’t land the job I really want, the position of copy editor, I would be just as satisfied as a print journalist, columnist or even with a different editorial position. The main thing that has eased my fears, however, is actually high school. I’ve always had a fear of failure, but those fears have passed the older I get. I used to be extremely shy, but being a senior and being in journalism has given me a boost of confidence. I won third place for my column at our state’s student journalism competition, M.I.P.A., and have won many other awards for my writing. I am also managing editor of my high school paper, which means I definitely have to have self-confidence in order to be a role model for other students. I have tried other methods of coping with my worries and stress, but the only thing that seems to work for me is simply working harder. The harder I work, the more I tell myself I can do anything I set my mind to which eases my fears more and more each day. Although I simply work harder to ease my fears, there are many things I make sure I do not do. For instance, I try not taking on too many things at once. Even if I have many things to complete, I try my best to break them down and complete one at a time. The fewer things I am working on, the less stress I have.
All in all, I think college will be a good experience for me. Not just because I’m no longer a high school student, and not just because I’ll only have school three times a week, but because I will be, in a sense, grown up. I’ve always felt as if I should have graduated years ago, and now that the time is here, I’m more than thrilled. To all students reading this publication, the main thing to realize is to always stay focused. Sure, school gets tough at times, but making it to graduation is worth the 12 years spent on education. Believe me.
Fun facts about Kaitlin:
How will I spend my first day of summer vacation?
I’ll most likely be sleeping. Senior year has taken a strain on me, physically and emotionally, so I think I deserve a nice rest. If I’m not sleeping however, I will most likely be planning for my open house or rejoicing that I am finally a high school graduate.
What are you most looking forward to about being a college freshman?
As weird as it may sound, I’m most looking forward to being a college freshman for one reason: respect. And of course, high school drama will no longer be in my vocabulary, I’ll have a little more freedom and I’ll only have to attend class three times a week. Who wouldn’t like that?
What’s your favorite childhood memory?
My favorite memory from childhood is, well, the Hanson concert I attended in fourth grade. I’m not quite sure if it’s bad that my favorite memory isn’t from school or not, but c’mon, Hanson was the bomb. To be an 8-year-old kid with stars in her eyes, sitting at a Hanson concert was life-altering… at least for me.
What class are you most dreading next year?
I don’t know my schedule for next year yet, but if there is any math involved that will by far be the class I will be dreading the most. I’ve never been that good at math, and although I can handle most of it, I would rather, say, stick a pen in my eye than do some algebra.
What class are you excited about?
I’m most looking forward to taking English. I’ll be attending a community college, then transferring so I won’t be focusing on my major until the switch. But once I do transfer, journalism will most likely be at the top of my “favorite course” list.
Staying home, saving $$
High school is over. It’s taken some getting used to, but I think it has finally hit me. Many of my friends are going off to college, as well as me, but my situation is a little different than most. While many of my friends are going either out of state or to the University of Michigan-Flint, which is only a few minutes away from my home, I’ve chosen to go to Mott Community College. Once I put in two years there, I’ll be transferring to U of M just like many of my friends.
My choice to go to a community college instead of a big university was simple. It’s not a distance factor, and it’s definitely not that I’m too attached to Flint to stay here, but it all boils down to money. I save well over $200 per credit hour by going to my college rather than a university. What an easy chose, right? Yet, many of my friends believe every community college is a “last-chance school,” which is simply not true. I very well could have gotten into a university, but with the cost of tuition, books and other expenses, it seems logical to take the core classes at a cheaper school before transferring. Plus, a community college is usually more like a high school than a major university, which I believe will make the transition from high school to college a little easier. The classes at a community college are about the size of a high school class, as opposed to a university, which is sometimes double the size of a high school classroom or bigger.
Back in high school, which is one of the weirdest things I’ve had to say in a while, I was known mostly for being on the newspaper staff. I was the “how-to” girl for the student newspaper, The Eclipse. I was also the second person in charge and the opinions editor, but it was mostly just the members of the publication who knew me as an editor. The majority of the students and teachers in the school simply knew me as the girl who writes. I went from being well-known in high school to most likely being unknown in college. That’s fine with me, though. I think I might actually like starting from scratch and trying to be recognizable to my peers again. Of course, being well-known is better than fading into the shadows, but it’s always fun trying to get to the point where everyone knows your name.
Because my major is journalism, I of course checked out my college’s newspaper. It’s more of a newsmagazine, which suited me fine, but as I looked deeper into it, I realized it is not something I want to do. Along with writing for Student Paths, I also have a job and will be taking 15 credits once school begins. Mott’s newspaper staff meets only Fridays, and I don’t have class that day, and I feel it would be a waste of gas to drive to school when all I have is a 20-minute meeting. I also found the articles have poor grammar and aren’t very well-written. To me, grammar and content are important when it comes to journalism, and I didn’t really want to be part of a publication that doesn’t focus on making their forum as good as possible. Since I found Mott’s newspaper to be slightly disappointing, I’ve decided to try for bigger things next year. I’m hoping to get an internship at the newspaper in my area by the end of the year. It might be hard for me to balance school and working at a newspaper, but journalism is what I love doing, and I’ll do it whenever I get the chance.
My first concern when starting college, even if mine is cheaper than a bigger university, was paying for my classes. Once it actually came down to the time to start getting everything ready, I realized that my first semester is pretty much all covered by a scholarship that I received from the state. Paying for classes actually helped ease my mind a little about the financial crisis I could run into without enough cash.
When thinking of starting school in the fall, I’m excited, yet scared. College is different than high school, and it’s tough to switch schools after four years. Although I’m slightly nervous, I’m more thrilled about the future. College is the first step to the rest of my life, so I know I need to work hard to accomplish all the goals that I’ve set for myself the next four years. I’m determined to make college better than high school ever was, and I think with a little determination I can make that happen. I’m officially out of high school and am now a college freshman — what more could I honestly ask for?
Editor’s note: Check in with Kaitlin again this January in Student Paths!
Ahorrar dinero fue la eleccion mas facil
La escuela secundaria ha terminado. Me ha costado un poco acostumbrarme, pero creo que finalmente lo he conseguido. Muchos de mis amigos se han mudado a otro estado o a la Universidad de Michigan-Flint, que sólo queda a unos minutos de distancia de nuestra ciudad, sin embargo, yo elegí la Universidad Comunitaria Mott. Yo también me transferiré a la Universidad de Michigan después de dos años.
La razón por la que elegí asistir a una universidad comunitaria, en lugar de una universidad más grande, fue simple. No se trataba de la distancia ni de estar apegada a Flint, todo se basó en dinero. Yendo a esta universidad, ahorro $200 por cada crédito comparado con cualquier otra universidad grande. La verdad es que mi decisión fue fácil. Sin embargo, muchos de mis amigos piensan que ir una universidad comunitaria es un ultimo recurso, pero yo no siento lo mismo. Podría haber entrado a otra universidad, pero entre el costo de arancel, los libros y otros gastos, me pareció lógico tratar de tomar las clases básicas en una escuela mas barata y después transferirme. Además, las universidades comunitarias se parecen mas a la escuela secundaria que a una universidad y así la transición de una escuela a otra será mas fácil. Las clases son casi del mismo tamaño que en la escuela secundaria, mientras que en las universidades muchas veces el tamaño se duplica o mas.
Mi primer preocupación antes de comenzar, aun cuando mi universidad es una de las más baratas, era cómo me las iba a arreglar para pagar las clases. Una vez que estuvo todo arreglado, me di cuenta de que el primer semestre seria cubierto con una beca que había recibido del estado. Lo cual me hizo sentir que no iba a pasar por una crisis financiera sin suficiente efectivo.
Al pensar en el comienzo de clases en el otoño, me siento entusiasmada, pero también asustada. La vida universitaria es muy diferente a la secundaria y es difícil cambiar de escuela después de cuatro años. Aunque con un poco de temor, estoy muy emocionada acerca del futuro. La vida universitaria es el primer paso hacia el resto de mi vida así que debo esforzarme para alcanzar mis objetivos. Estoy decidida a hacer que este tiempo sea aun mejor que el de mi escuela secundaria, y siento que con determinación puedo hacerlo realidad. Oficialmente, he finalizado la secundaria y soy una alumna universitaria — ¿que más podría pedir?
Kaitlin Doyle #3I’m one of the lucky ones. By lucky I mean one of those college students who doesn’t have to attend class five days a week. I only have to go three days a week. Tuesdays and Thursdays are my “I-don’t-even-want-to-get-out-of-bed” days, Wednesdays are my “eh,-I-can-do-this” days, and Mondays and Fridays are my “I-only-have-to-attend-class-three-days-a-week!” days. While having four-day weekends are my favorite part of the semester, Wednesdays are by far my easiest school days. The only class I have on Wednesdays is a psychology lab. The lab lasts from 2 to 4:55 p.m. Yeah, three hours is a really long time for just one class, but all we have to do is stare at a computer screen for three hours, watch videos and then write a lab report. I’m usually done at least 30 minutes early, which is always nice.
I sometimes debate if having longer days, while going fewer times a week, is a good thing. I’ll probably try to switch it up a bit next semester. But for nowÉ
6:30 a.m.: My mom knocks on my door to wake me up because I still can’t get my alarm of four years to go off at the right time.
7:40 a.m.: Freshly showered and armed with school supplies, I head out the door not ready for a seven-hour day.
8 a.m.: My first class, Psychology 281, starts. I’m staring at the clock by 8:15 a.m., ready to get out of there. I sit in the front every day to show interest, or at least pretend I’m interested. My professor tends gets off topic, so most of the lectures are about her family and friends rather than the subject at hand. At least it’s an interesting class, though.
9:30 a.m.: Psychology ended five minutes ago, and my Human Interactions class is just starting. This class is definitely the most exciting class of the day. Despite the title of the class, it’s more or less public speaking. Everyone in that class is like a family, and we all know about each others’ lives. Some of my classmates used to be addicted to drugs, some grew up in foster homes, and some aren’t even from America. But most importantly, we all understand and respect each other.
10:55 a.m.: Human Interactions class is over, and I’m ready for my first break of the day. I travel across campus in the now freezing-cold weather, carrying a 40-pound bag full of books.
11:30 a.m.: My worst class, emphasis on worst, starts. When filling out my schedule four months ago, I thought philosophy sounded interesting — boy was I wrong! I was lost the first day of class and began looking at my classmates to see if they seemed to understand the professor. Everyone else was looking around as well, so I figured it wasn’t just me who was confused. No matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to focus or even understand what in the world the professor’s talking about. Put it this way — my planner is filled out until 2010 and broken down into minutes of what I think I’ll be doing on certain days.
12:55 p.m.: Philosophy is finally over, and every day I’m surprised I made it through 90 minutes. I once again have a 30-minute break, so I head up stairs to chat with friends from high school until my next class. This is the only time I have to talk to anyone, because the rest of my day is pretty busy. Not many people from my high school go to my college, so the few of us who do are friends now even if we weren’t in high school. It’s funny how just by recognizing someone you’re instantly friends with them. It’s strange how that works out when you feel all alone.
1:30 p.m.: English 101 starts. Thankfully, this is my last class of the day. My professor looks like a cast member of “Miami Vice.” He usually wears purple or neon colors, has a strange haircut and wears gold jewelry. We write about one paper a week. He doesn’t grade on how you write, though, just if he agrees with your topic. I’ve learned to always take his side if I want an A.
3 p.m. to bedtime: After suffering through a long day, I’m finally out of school and on my way home to do homework. I pretty much do homework, with the exception of eating dinner, until I go to bed. The times I go to bed vary and depend on how much work I have, how tired I am, and if I have to wake up early the next morning.
The semester is almost over, and I couldn’t be more thankful, but it’s still scary because I don’t know what I’ll be walking into next time around. I’m lucky to only have class three days a week, but I wish my days were shorter. I guess the saying is true; you can’t have your cake and eat it, too. Or in my case, you can’t have long weekends and get enough credits, too.
Un dia con Kaitlin
6:30 a.m.: Mi mama golpea la puerta de mi habitación para despertarme porque aunque hace 4 anos que tengo el mismo despertador no puedo hacer que suene a la hora correcta.
7:40 a.m.: Recién duchada y con mis útiles en mano salgo de casa no muy lista para enfrentar las 7 horas de clase.
8 a.m.: Comienza mi primera clase, Psicología 281. A las 8:15 a.m. miro al reloj con ganas de que la clase ya haya terminado. Me siento al frente para mostrar interés o por lo menos parecer interesada. Mi profesora tiende a salirse del tema, las clases muchas veces son mas sobre su familia y amigos que sobre la materia del día. Por lo menos la clase es interesante.
11:30 a.m.: Mi peor clase, énfasis en peor. Cuando me anote en esta clase, hace cuatro meses, pensé que Filosofía podría ser interesante- oh, que equivocada estaba! El primer día de clases estaba perdida pero empecé a mirar a mi alrededor y ninguno de mis compañeros parecía entender al profesor. Todos estaban en la misma, mirando a su alrededor, me di cuenta de que yo no era la única que estaba confundida.
12:55 p.m.: La clase de Filosofía termina y cada día me sorprende que logre aguantar esos 90 minutos. Aprovecho el recreo de 30 minutos para ir al piso de arriba a charlar con mis amigos de la escuela secundaria hasta la próxima clase. Esta es la única oportunidad que tengo para habla con mis amigos porque el resto del día estaré muy ocupada. No hay muchos de nosotros que venimos de la misma escuela secundaria por eso aunque no hubiéramos sido amigos antes, ahora lo somos simplemente porque nos conocemos de antes. Es extraño como funciona cuando te sientes solo.
1:30 p.m.: Comienza Ingles 101. La ultima clase del día. Escribimos un trabajo por semana. Mi profesor no califica tu manera de escribir sino tu forma de pensar. He aprendido que si quiero una A, debo pensar como el.
3 p.m. hasta la hora de ir a dormir: Finalmente salgo de la escuela y voy a casa a hacer tareas. Trabajo en mis tareas desde que llego a casa hasta que me voy a dormir con la excepción de la hora de la cena. La hora en que me voy a dormir depende en cuanto tengo que hacer, si estoy cansada y si me tengo que levantar temprano a la mañana o no. Siempre trato de dejar una hora para relajarme antes de ir a dormir.
Surprisingly tough
“Mott Community College? Ugh. Who wants to go to a community college? Isn’t that for people who can’t get into a real college? I’m smarter than that. Isn’t it just like high school? I want out of high school! I want a university!”
Those were my thoughts a little more than a year ago when my parents told me we could only afford the dreaded community college for a few years. I always had big dreams of going off to a university, living in a dorm, making tons of friends and having this amazing education so I could just move to New York City and find the perfect journalism job.
News flash: that rarely happens. I’m an only child, my father is an information systems manager for a major company and my mother works at the elementary school I attended. Still, college is hard to afford. My parents advised me that going to a community college would help us save money so I could eventually transfer to a university. I complained, just like any 18-year-old would. The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized what a smart choice it actually was.
Now that I’ve put in more than a semester in college, I realize how smart it was to go to the college I’m attending. Aside from the whole “it’s way cheaper” thing, a community college has a lot to offer. For one, community colleges are just what they say — they’re in the community. Being close to home is great when you’re fresh out of high school.
Community college is also more like high school, thankfully without the drama, so the transition from high school to college is easier.
I walked into college somewhat upset I wasn’t at a university. I felt like I was dumb, poor and unable to get into another school. The truth is, I’m not poor, and I didn’t even apply to any other colleges. I also like to tell myself I’m not dumb.
Honestly, my community college is a lot harder than most universities. I have had several classmates who went to a university, returned to Mott because of the price difference — which is in the thousands — and have said community college is much harder. I won’t say the universities they attended, but they were well-known schools.
The main reason a community college is harder is because the classes are smaller. At universities, if you have a lecture class you’re not getting one-on-one attention and don’t have many assignments. What teacher would want to grade 200 assignments when they’re only worth 10 points? On the other hand, I have numerous assignments and many papers daily and have more work than anyone I know. (The only exception to that rule is my boyfriend, who attends Kettering University, a school for mechanical engineering.) Unfortunately, many students in universities don’t realize this and think that community colleges are easier, have less work and attract dumb students.
I’m thankful for my parents talking me into going to a community college. While books are the same price as universities, classes are so much cheaper. It’s also fun to talk about my day with my friends and see their awe because they don’t do half the work I do or know half the stuff I do. I like thinking I’m changing people’s views on community colleges. I don’t mind going to a tougher college, but I do mind people thinking it’s a college for losers.
Knowing what I know now, there’s not one thing I would change about my decision to attend the school I do. The money I’m saving by not going to a university the first two years of my college career will help pay for the two years spent getting my bachelor’s degree. I like knowing that by the time graduation rolls around, I’ll have more money than my fellow must-go-to-a-university-right-away peers.
Speaking of money, I’m also thankful that my parents are paying for my college courses. While I do have a job, I’m saving my money to help once I get to a university. My parents are paying for my classes as well as my books, which is much more than some students get. I have to take 62 credits for my associate’s degree in art, which will add up to about $6,000 to $8,000 over two years.
Ever since I could remember, I wanted to be a journalist and thought my credits would be filled with only journalism courses. I can’t take journalism classes until I go to a university, though, because my college doesn’t offer them. In order to get an art degree, I’m finding I have to take numerous psychology and human development classes, which I’m finding very interesting. I still love journalism and writing but am finding my developmental classes are exciting while English 102 is almost like a root canal. (And, yes, I have the right to use that analogy — I’ve had two, thank you.)
I am grateful for attending Mott Community College. I truly value my education, and money, and feel that attending a community college first is a smart thing to do. It might be harder, people might think you’re poor, dumb or couldn’t do better, but what does that matter? In the end, the only thing that really matters is how you see yourself … and that you have extra money, of course.
Real Story Team...