If you asked me four years ago what I was planning to do, going into college, I would have looked at you with a blank face, thought for a moment, and said: “I don’t even know if I want to apply yet… If I do, a part of me is thinking a psychology degree is the safest, most versatile career route.”

Does any high school senior know, with absolute certainty, what they want to pursue?

The short answer, more often than not, is no, especially not me.

College applications were the bane of my existence in my senior year of high school. So much so, I had to be convinced to apply to five schools, let alone finish my essay. Not long before the due date for the beginning steps of the application process, one of my uncles passed away suddenly. I remember feeling a shock to my core and feeling a sense of worry committing to a school without a clear path given how short time started to feel. The deadline to submit my college essay was rapidly approaching and all I could feel was the weight of the world on my shoulders.

I would often voice my concerns about how my life was moving to my forensics teacher who was previously my biology teacher. I knew she had my best interest in mind and would give much needed guidance on what route may be the best for me. One of the biggest questions that came up for me was whether I should commit to applications right away or give myself the time to formally decide.

Looking back on it now, I think her advice was preventative. I thought she saw a bright kid that was down and out but could pick herself up. My thoughts were that a part of her judgement was to prevent another high school graduate from opting out of college. She suggested that I apply to only my top five, to write the essay and follow through….. just to see where it could go.

Despite the magnitude of how it felt, I did it. I wrote my college essay about how I sincerely did not want to write my college essay, about how strenuous it was and how I was convinced into doing it. Somehow, as pessimistic as it was, it got me into three of the five colleges.

I sat with that information until time did not permit me to anymore, and decided on the City College of New York (CCNY). I was reluctant at first because it did feel very limiting, but with finances and the opportunity, I figured it may have honestly been the best route I could have chosen. During the applications, I had the idea to pursue psychology which was a career path I thought could have multiple career routes.

The class began a swift mindset transition from a psychology degree to a more writing centered degree – even as I wasn’t exactly sure what that would look like. Another reason I chose to attend City College was because of the renowned liberal arts program that would allow me the tools both academically and economically to succeed.

Throughout my time here at City, one of the courses that cemented my interest to pursue writing as a career was Writing for the Humanities and Arts. In this class, my final assignment was to write an essay in accordance with a “call for paper” of our choosing; which is exactly as it sounds, an academic journal posting a request for academic papers under a specific topic. With this assignment, I was able to determine that one of the topics that really piqued my interest for writing was the analysis of pop culture in relation to and reflection of society. I wrote an extensive research paper about the philosophy behind the tv show “The Good Place” as a prevalent theme in the plot of the afterlife. This class along with the Intro to Sociology course I took in one of the following semesters helped to narrow in on the themes that I wanted to present in my writing. It opened the door of possibilities regarding how I could apply my interests to a career.

Shortly after the spring semester came to an end, I added journalism as a minor in order to get well rounded experience with producing researched content in a professional way. I had an interest in combining my writing skills with video based content in order to capitalize on a growing style of sharing information: video essays/podcasting in addition to op-ed style articles. Journalism is not far from the career path I thought I would pursue growing up.

As a result of watching the travel network often in our freetime, my mom would mention how I could be one of the travel journalists that had a show. My sister would shortly after agree, which had been a faint lingering idea going into college pursuing writing.

When the fall 2024 semester rolled around, I was able to formally begin the introductory Media Communication Arts (MCA) courses. The first of many was Introduction to Journalism which provided a format I very quickly felt comfortable with. So much so that my first official article was submitted to Professor Barbara Nevins Taylor to be edited and published on the Harlem View, a CCNY student journalist publication. Shortly after my piece got published, I got offered a position as a co-managing editor for the site where I edit and publish the articles that are sent in. I remember being very proud of the piece because I was very nervous going into the interview process, yet they offered me a student editor’s position after my first official attempt at journalistic writing. While in this position, I’ve gained experience from editing stories to publishing stories through the CMS of the Harlem View website, a skill that can be applied to similar sites as my career advances.

This leads me to the position I now hold with theHIPE where I am researching, interviewing, and writing articles about various high impact practices for students. After applying through Federal Work Study (FWS)a> because of an interest in contributing to a CUNY zine, I’m able to contribute to a CUNY wide publication that is sharing ways to best take advantage of CUNY opportunities.

Despite the uncertainty I was consumed with regarding college after high school graduation, as a student at City College I’ve managed to maintain a 3.71 GPA and a position on the Dean’s list since my first semester of enrollment. I now have a S Jay Levy fellowship which promotes work readiness and guarantees a summer internship at the completion of the required courses. This fellowship comprises three sections over the course of one academic school year; the fall semester focuses on developing your resume, cover letter and prepares you for interviews, while the spring semester has a focus on philosophical texts that have influenced the western workplace. The fellowship culminates with the summer internship that grants a stipend at completion. As a participant you have the space to build your network in your projected career field, along with developing useful skills and experience to navigate the workplace post graduation. At the current state of my college career, I am now able to focus my attention toward experience and resume building which is why I’m excited to be one of the newest members to theHIPE team.