Who Does That?

Sophomore Michelle Vergara, from West Palm Beach, Fla., did, and so can you! Here’s her story in her own words:

I was that kid who did both AP and dual-enrollment — the one who wrote sports articles, but never set foot on the field — and who graduated in the top of my small class of 43. Right before my graduation, I was convinced that I should major in Marketing and become the CEO of something prestigious. I also thought I was going to be a scientist-journalist-novelist-magician-spy and be a Pulitzer Prize winner by age 16. Well, none of those things happened, but I still hold the same belief: I can do anything.

Up until the eleventh hour, I was torn between the University of Florida and Stetson, finally choosing to be a Stetson Hatter because of the smaller campus, welcoming environment and how it made my mom feel being only three hours away instead of five.

I enrolled in the Honors Program as a Marketing major under the great wisdom of Professor Michael Denner, who oversees the program. This happy accident turned out to be the best decision I made. Like many high school students, I’ve undergone several identity crises over the past few years, but Professor Denner told me something for it all to make sense. He said, “Don’t think of life as a straight path. Rather, think of it as a chessboard, each move opening up new strategies, some you never knew existed, and leaving behind others.”

Discovering what you want to be in life, and modifying your strategy to get there, can change as many times as the number of jobs you will actually experience in your life. According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Statistics, the number of jobs one will hold from age 18 to 42 will be 10 to 11. So, it’s normal – there is no identity crisis – you just have to dare to create.

During my first year, after reading Dan Ariely’s Predictably Irrational and engaging in some Honors debauchery, I decided to do something really crazy. I would design my own major in Behavioral Economics. In my quest, I had the opportunity to speak with several professors one-on-one, and my Marketing Professor and advisor Carolyn Nicholson encouraged my interdisciplinary endeavor. I realized that above academics, I’m in college to challenge myself and to become a better person. I walked away from their offices with a sense of purpose in search of more intellectual adventure.

At Stetson, I find myself limited only by my imagination. In the next two years, I hope to study abroad during the summer or during a mentored field experience. I also plan to intern and conduct my own research either through senior research or an independent study. None of these will be easy, but I’m ready for the adventure. What about you?

For more information about Stetson’s Honors Program go to stetson.edu/honors.

Michelle’s fave things about Stetson’s Honors Program:

• I met my new best friends (right) by living in the Honors House
• I engage regularly with Philosophy colleagues and fellow debaters
• I receive the best advice and support in the world

Unique student-designed Honors 202 Tutorials:

• Philosophy of Harry Potter
• Rational Decision-Making as Economics of Psychology
• The Mouse: the Cultural Impact of Disney and How They Make Magic