THREE SENIORS REFLECT THEIR TIME AT USI

BY ABBY DURHAM and TEGAN RUHL

Courtney Bourne, senior marketing major, has a full-time job as a benefits marketing analyst at Heritage Federal Credit Union. Bourne said she is looking forward to getting into her professional career. “After learning about something you’re passionate about, it’s exciting to actually practice it and develop professional skills,” Bourne said. One of Bourne’s favorite memories from her time at USI was traveling to New Orleans, Louisiana, as president of USI’s American Marketing Association chapter for the 2023 AMA International Collegiate Conference. “It was great building friendships with everyone and getting to be in New Orleans for five days,” Bourne said. The biggest challenges of Bourne’s college career include uncertainties about where she would be after college and having to take classes that did not align with her major or passions. “It was hard to stay focused on courses you don’t particularly have an interest in,” she said. Bourne emphasized the importance of connection to undergraduate students. “Don’t be afraid to network with others,” she said. “Meet everyone you can in your classes or in the community. Your professors are also your friends, at USI especially. You have that one-on-one connection. Using them as a resource will help in the future.” Bourne also encouraged students to get involved in as much as they can. “You don’t have to be a president or vice president to lead something,” she said.

Edwin Daniel Ramirez, senior foreign exchange and industrial engineering major, said USI is a stage of his life that he will hold close to his heart. His current postgraduate plans include finding a job after college to work at for a year or two and eventually applying for an MBA at a business school, possibly in the United States or England. His favorite memory from USI was doing life with his friends. “Most of my memories are focusing on friends,” he said. “Taking lunch with my friends and going to the library, staying in the library until midnight doing homeworking and, at the same time, having fun and jokes. So, I can say this is something that I will remember for the rest of my life, working with friends.” Ramirez said his advice to underclassmen would be that while it’s important to focus on classes, take advantage of all the activities you can while you have the time. “College is the time to have fun,” he said. “You need to take advantage of the other activities that are involved in college because life is not only your work. Being a part of clubs and activities help you develop your social skills, and outside, these are things people are looking for. I already had a couple of interviews and the first things that they ask you is not about your skills in your major, they ask you about your hobbies and your life. Take advantage of the other activities and get involved.”

Kaitlynn Walls, senior English major, is ready to begin the next chapter of her life. In the future, Walls hopes to be an author and has looked into different social media jobs involving editing and publishing. Walls said she is enthusiastic about “establishing a foundation for myself and being able to start my life and make it on my own.’’ Walls has gained better writing skills, responsibility and time management from her time at USI. She is happy to take the friends she has gained over the last few years with her to the next stage of her life. “I love the closeness of the campus community,” Walls said. “USI has brought a lot of good friends into my life. The closeness of campus has made us become and stay so close.” Walls said one of the challenging things about her college career has been motivation. “College is not easy, in the aspect of learning how to do things on your own, not having someone tell you what to do, being responsible for yourself and depending on yourself,” she said. Walls encouraged current and upcoming students to set a schedule. “Having a lack of uniformity in your day makes everything feel off. Having a plan in place every day would have dramatically changed how I performed in my college career,” Walls said. “Don’t study your life away. It’s important to be productive, but it’s also important to go out and do things. Protect your mental health.”