Embracing opportunities helped JC student 艾米丽Matko achieve success
艾米丽Matko came to 杰克逊的大学 seeking a fresh start and a promising future.
“我上网了。, and I was searching up colleges that could accept my GPA in high school and that also had dorm options and I came across 杰克逊的大学,”她说。. “It had the diversity I was looking for. It had the small classes I was looking for and it had the opportunities I was looking for. 所以，这是一个绝佳的机会.”
两年后, 的德威特, Michigan native is leaving with her head held high and a renewed sense of purpose.
“It helped me become the person I am today,” Matko said. “It helped me to really find out who I am and it helped me realize the type of career I wanted.”
Emily found her passion in marketing after exploring various majors, leading her to earn a digital marketing certificate. Prior to that, an internship at Ella Sharp Museum solidified her decision.
“I’ve been doing it for a year now, and I love it,”她说。. “I feel like 杰克逊的大学 really helped me expand my horizons.”
Emily has been an active participant in 力量姐妹 for two years and served as president of the 学生会.
“They have both really helped grow my character and become the person I am today and helped me overcome in a way being more uncomfortable in certain situations to help build my character,”她说。. “When you’re comfortable all the time, you’re not going to grow.”
She felt being president of the student government made her become a better leader.
“If students come to me with a concern, I can help them. I could lead them in the right direction,” Matko said. “I could help them advocate for themselves. 任何问题, 他们的评论或关注, they can always run it through me and I always do my best to achieve their question, 评论或关注.”
She did not get through her journey alone. Her professors and some staff members she worked closely with including Antoine Breedlove, 布伦达·布兰登, Haley Hampton and Ariel Maturine played an integral part of her success.
“I really have always appreciated their understanding and commitment to my education,” Emily said.
Some of her success can be attributed to her personal motto; “Just say, ‘Yes.’”
“It helped me to really find out who I am and it helped me realize the type of career I wanted,”她说。. “杰克逊的大学 has done so much for me, and I always tell people how good JC is and the experiences I’ve had. It’s such a small school but there’s so many possibilities here. You just have got to say, ‘yes’ to everything when you’re here.”
Emily will be transferring to a four-year institution to get her bachelor’s degree in marketing. She would eventually like to pursue life coaching.