In high school I never thought I would end up at GCC. I always thought I would know what I wanted to do, and go to a 4 year school where I would dorm and get the ‘normal’ college experience. But senior year rolled around, and so did decision making. At the time I had ideas about what I wanted to major in, but never certain. Due to that fact alone, I decided on GCC. It was inexpensive, close to home which meant I didn’t have to spend money on room and board, and it gave me the opportunity to test the waters.

My first semester was Fall 2016. During this semester I didn’t really know how college worked, I was just figuring things out. At the time I was taking some core classes I would need no matter what I majored in, as well as some electives to figure out what I wanted to study. I was taking an English, math and history course as my core classes, ASL (American Sign Language) and Sociology as my electives. All was great and I enjoyed my classes, but come winter break I still was not sold on any specific program of study.

Starting in the Spring 2017 semester, my counselor help me decide to take a different route. I took 5 classes as usual. Another required English class, and I also signed up for CEP which is Career Educational Planning—my first online class. I also signed up for communications, biology, and a human services class. These classes served the sole purpose of helping me figure out which of the three majors I was considering would be right for me. It took just one class to figure it out! In my first day of Intro to Communications with Val Bello, and I was instantly fascinated.

However, I knew I didn’t want to be a radio host or TV personality, but rather I wanted to work with social media in the business aspect. From there I examined what majors GCC offered, and found that Business Administration: Social Media and Marketing was the perfect fit for me. While I still had time I dropped the biology and human services courses, and picked up classes in Professional Sales and Marketing. This reinforced what I wanted to study.

This semester, I had the pleasure of getting to know Professor Dudkowski, who also happened to be my professional sales teacher. He not only taught me everything I needed to know about sales and being a successful salesperson, but he also taught me a million life lessons, so I felt it was necessary to mention him as he was a pivotal influence on my outlook on life. He taught me the importance of confidence as well as perseverance. He taught me to never look upon life negatively, as everything is an opportunity to learn or grow. Not only did he teach me, but he gave me so many opportunities I wouldn’t have taken myself. Through his class, I supported the United Way and sold ducks for the Ducky Derby.  He also encouraged that we help with the Fashion Show, although I was hesitant, I eventually landed a position in a scene for Elysium, the 36th Annual Fashion Show, which I walked in this past weekend.

I also got the opportunity to join the MarCom (Marketing & Communication) team at GCC as a student blogger. This has given me the opportunity to grow my personal blogging skills, as well as learn skills that will help me in so many ways in the future. Thanks to MarCom I also took a part in the Faces of GCC Photoshoot, where my photo (see image) may be used for various promotional purposes—including this blog! Through MarCom I have made friends and gained experience, which is all I could ask for.

Overall, I have had a very humbling freshman year of college. I am looking forward to following semesters I will have at GCC, and the opportunities that will arise. I encourage you to embrace your time here, learn from the people you meet, and take every opportunity that comes your way. You won’t regret it.

“Great things never came from comfort zones.”

-Joyell Johnson

-Danielle