Transcription of Kari-Anne’s Interview

SEP Transfer Orientation

Spring 2008

My name is Kari-Anne Scholenburger. I’m a junior here at WOU and I’m close to applying for the College of Education. I moved from the Portland area and transferred to WOU in the middle of the school year, starting winter term. So that was a little different from the norm. So I guess it was a little hard for me at first, but luckily there was a lot of word of mouth on campus about the Student Enrichment Program. So, I was able to get involved with that through, luckily word of mouth and reaching out. I guess transferring here I didn’t know as much about the campus. I didn’t take advantage of the orientation or anything like that, because it just doesn’t fall into the time that I transferred, which probably would have left a different taste in my mouth. But getting involved in the Student Enrichment Program, really helped me learn a lot more about the program or about the school in general than I understood. So, it was definitely worth it.

Q: So, why Western?

Well Western because of the college of education program, it’s held in high regard. So, that’s why. Also, years ago when I first got out of high school and I was looking to go to college, Western was one that I had visited, I mean years ago, and really liked. And just because I liked the campus, it’s so pretty here. And it’s a small campus and so you get a lot of individualized attention from teachers, small classrooms, so that was the reason I choose Western.

Well it was fairly smooth I guess (transition to WOU). I think for me the hardest part was getting familiar with the financial aid office and the registrar’s office, I think that can be kind of challenging for students. Because it’s… I don’t know if it’s because of me or if it’s because of… and maybe it was because I didn’t do the orientation program and wasn’t familiar with how things worked here. But it’s so different from college to college and I just kind of assumed it would be the same as my community college, and its not. So, I would definitely recommend that people get really familiar with when registration dates are when their times are, get really comfortable with the web-based system here on-campus and know how to get logged-on. And really make sure that you’re double checking things and not just assuming that you understand the process. Because I’ve made some mistakes regarding that and umm… Which luckily have worked out for my benefit in the end but it can be problematic if you’re really down to the wire and need to take some specific classes.

Well, being a transfer student is definitely beneficial just for the fact that I have that experience… the college experience already. I mean, I know what’s required of me and I know what kind of effort I need to put in to stay on-task and schedule. So there are definite advantages to that.

Q: Any other big surprises besides the whole registration office and financial aid thing?

I guess the only big surprise was that I didn’t know anything about the Student Enrichment Program. That and the other thing that I found a lot more about here at WOU was the scholarship programs here at WOU. I was surprised by how much easier doing scholarship was than I had previously thought. I had never attempted scholarships before. I thought it was such an arduous process and it just wouldn’t apply to me. I didn’t realize that there are actually more need based scholarships out there than there are actually academic scholarships. I had no clue. There are so many things that I found out through the Student Enrichment Program. That would be the biggest thing that I’ve learned here on campus because I have learned so many things through the Student Enrichment Program that I otherwise wouldn’t have known.

Q: Any other resources you’ve utilized through SEP?

Well, you know I come in and get a Scantron from time to time, when I need it. Or I… being a single mom days when Sofie’s sick and I can’t come to school so I can check out a tape recorder. So, I use that to tape classes and lectures if I need to. So, there are a lot of benefits you get, small to very big. The other thing I love about the Student Enrichment Program is the really individualized advising that I get. I hope everyone that comes here has as good of an experience as I’ve had.