For most of us, college is the first time that the question “What do you want to do with your life?” starts to mean something serious. There are far fewer aspiring astronauts and veterinarians at the collegiate level than there are in many third grade classrooms.
In the first week of the fall semester, students told The Scribe what their hopes were for the future and what they wish their younger selves would have known.
Liam Keating (he/him), freshman theatre major, 18
What did you want to be when you were younger?
I wanted to be an astronaut for a long time.
What do you want to be now?
I want to be an actor … it never gets easier to look people in the eye and tell them that. I feel like majoring in theatre is the next logical option after doing local theatre and acting in high school. I’m here to make connections and take the next step toward acting.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Try a little harder and work harder at the things you don’t want to do. If I was better at math, maybe I could have been an astronaut.
Lexi Wilmoth (she/her), junior mechanical engineering major, 20
What did you want to be when you were younger?
I kind of wanted to be a cowgirl because I liked horses — not in a horse-girl way, though. As I grew up, I was interested in a lot of things. At one point, I really wanted to play professional volleyball; I played sports my whole life and played volleyball in college for the last two years. I ended up quitting the team and transferred here. I kind of knew I would never play professionally, but it was still a dream. I still say that I want to be a cowgirl because I want to have my own ranch … although I have no idea how to do any of that stuff, I’d love to have a garden and live off the earth.
What do you want to be now?
I never wanted to settle on one thing, I still want to do so many things. I feel like that’s what life is about, not a 9-5 and hating your life at the end of the day. I think everybody should love what they do, and that could be a million different things.
What advice would you give to your younger self? Especially that girl who used to be a college volleyball player?
Aw, little college volleyball player Lexi? I would tell her to live more in the moment. Realize that it’s possible to be happy in every situation as long as you try to see the best in it. Try to find people who make you feel fulfilled. You don’t need to be friends with everybody, just the good people who you enjoy, that make you feel good and aren’t mean to you. Oh, and hug your parents more too!
Lanee Goettsch (she/her), freshman biology major, 18
What did you want to be when you were younger?
I wanted to be a professional basketball player; I played varsity all four years of high school … The last time I wanted to be a pro player was my freshman year of high school. I had a terrible coach who broke my spirits and then I kind of stopped wanting that.
What do you want to be now?
I want to be a marine biologist. I just love sharks. I know that’s kind of weird to want, but I really want to study sharks. I’m taking basic biology because I grew up here and I didn’t want to leave for my first year of college, so I stayed here to figure out if that’s really what I want to do.
What advice would you give to your younger self? What did the version of you who had a terrible coach need to hear?
Branch out into your other interests. Basketball was kind of my everything at the time which is why it affected me so much.
Ethan Fernandez (he/him), junior cybersecurity management major, Japanese minor, 21
What did you want to be when you were younger?
As a kid I wanted to be an astronaut and in high school I wanted to do something with computers. I wanted to do something with computer science or software engineering stuff.
What do you want to be now?
Cybersecurity manager, something in that field. I minored in Japanese because I wanted to learn and connect with my Japanese family members and be able to communicate with them.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Don’t doubt yourself; keep moving on and keep pushing forward. You’ll get there eventually.
Graphic by Lexi Petri.