Hello!

Hi everyone!  I am Allie Whitcomb, and I will be one of your AmeriCorps College Success Coaches!  I am excited to serve as a resource for your questions regarding college admissions, scholarships, student leadership, and all that is in between!

 

I wanted to use this blog post to introduce my background and to talk about my own time in college.  I am originally from Miami, Florida and I recently received my Bachelor’s degree this past May in Liberal Arts with concentrations in Sociology and Gender Studies from New College of Florida in Sarasota, Florida.  New College is a small school with only 800 students, and is the public Honors College for the Florida University System.  It is a liberal arts college, meaning that as a student there, I studied everything from Metaphysics, Religion, Sociology, Media studies, and Statistics.  I am a big advocate of Liberal Arts educations because they offer students the opportunity to study broad subjects and become familiar with all different disciplines.  It was challenging to take courses that were outside of my major, but it was also very rewarding because I now have a strong background in a vast array of subjects.

I was also very involved in student government and student-led groups/clubs throughout my four years in undergrad.  Getting involved not only helped me meet new people, but it also made me feel a part of the college and like I was making a difference.  Part of feeling like I was a part of something was my experience working with the College Admissions office as a student tour guide and representative.  It was a great experience because I got to work with school administrators, such as the Dean of Admissions, and I got hands on experience with the inner workings of college admissions.

And finally, a huge part of my college experience was my professors and academic advisors.  I had the unique experience of writing an undergraduate thesis (often a requirement for most Honors colleges) and this meant that I worked very closely with professors doing my research.  Something we will be discussing throughout the coming months will be research and developing relationships with professors, and this was definitely something that made my college experience that much more significant to me.  As a prospective graduate student applying to Master’s programs, it is a wonderful asset to have developed close relationships with professors who can speak on behalf of my abilities in recommendation letters.

With a better understanding of my background, I hope my experiences will help you as you navigate your own college path.  Again, I look forward to serving as your College Success Coach and assisting you in any way I can!

Best wishes,

Allie Whitcomb J

awhitcomb@takestockinchildren.org