“If someone had told me 2 years ago when I finished online high school caused by the pandemic that I would be where I am today, I probably would have laughed right in their face. I had always struggled in school and while I was able to pick up the pieces and pull my grades and GPA up my junior year of high school, I still struggle today. It was a constant grind just to get anything above a C in a class. Think of pushing a boulder uphill, it’s not impossible yet sometimes it feels like it. I naturally assumed that I was just bad at school and that there must be something wrong with me. Despite feeling like I wasn’t good at school, I decided to enroll in college anyway, mostly out of spite because I was told I couldn’t. When looking at majors, I decided to major in 6-12 education and history education. I was always interested in history, and it was the one class I didn’t struggle in. Having an amazing teacher who was willing to work with an ADHD 13-year-old who would rather be reading than taking notes helped push me to succeed, take interest in that subject, and inspire me to become a teacher. As inspirational as that sounds, I was still left with the dilemma of how I was going to pass college. I guess passing wasn’t something spiteful 17-year-old me thought about. When I got here and walked into my first day of classes and looked at the readings, I panicked. I thought that I wasn’t smart enough to be here. I can’t remember who, but one of my professors told me that college and high school were very different. The structure is different, and the teaching style is different. That professor was right. I am currently double majoring in 6-12 education and history education. I am minoring in religion, and I am an Ulrich Scholar. College, while hard at times, comes easier to me than high school ever did. The difference between senior year of high school and sophomore year of college is huge. I’ve made the dean’s list 3 semesters in a row (fingers crossed for this semester too) and I am surrounded by amazing friends who support and love me.” – Maggie