Student Life with Jaylen

Transcript

All right, everyone let’s bounce over to the East Tennessee State University’s bookstore and meet up with the one and only, Jaylen Malik Grimes. He received his undergraduate degree here at ETSU and now he’s getting his master’s in educational leadership. Jaylen can’t wait to tell you about the student life and all the opportunities for getting involved right here at ETSU. Jaylen, please take it away.

– Hello everybody. Having a healthy student life experience is a very pertinent piece to your journey through undergrad. Joining clubs, organizations, attending events and networking provide a foundation for student success. During your first encounter you’ll meet orientation leaders. Orientation leaders are here to get you excited about East Tennessee State University. They also introduce you to programs such as Quest and Preview. These are programs here and available for our students to get you a jumpstart to college. You get to meet friends, mentors, faculty and staff to build your community and support system. You have ample opportunities to get involved in whatever your heart desires because we offer hundreds of clubs and organizations. And if there’s an idea of an organization or club that you wanna bring to our campus, the university supports it. You’ll be able to volunteer, join intermurals, go to the campus rec, do an outdoor adventure or join Greek life. There’s just so much out there. During my time at ETSU I became a Quest, Preview and orientation leader. I also play rugby. As an athlete I learned that sometimes you must go backwards to go forwards. I got the privilege of learning skills such as time management, dealing with finances and conflict resolution through my teammates. Through Quest and Preview I got to understand the importance of community, navigating the university And someone believing in me to complete undergrad. As an orientation leader I got to apply what I had learned from Quest and Preview. I got to become a mentor and help students build their community. Your community is huge during undergrad. When you’re down, they pick you up. When you’re up, they keep you grounded. Without them I don’t know where I would be now. Those three organizations shaped me as a young man and gave me skills to take on any profession and gave me purpose on ETSUs campus. They taught me who I was internally as a leader. I was allowed to be the community for somebody else, to be their friend, to be their ally, to be there. College has been the best four years of my life. I always say, “Time flies when you change your lives. Even if it’s your own.” So get involved. Don’t let it be a regret that you didn’t explore your interests. Three key words for success, at East Tennessee University are opportunity, community and involvement. They want to assist you, guide you to open doors and prepare you for what’s next. There are many ways for you to gain experience, learn new skills and become a well-rounded person ready to conquer the world. It just takes you taking that first step into shaping your new environment. Hope to see you on campus. Thanks Alex.

– Jaylen, great job. It’s so fun to hear what all the clubs and organizations students can get involved with here on campus. It sounds like no matter what your interests are ETSU has you covered. Thanks again, Jaylen.