Meet an Explorer
Every UESP student has a unique story and journey. Here are some OSU students who chose to explore with UESP.
Meet Alyssa P
Alyssa is from Happy Valley, OR and is majoring in Business Adminstration with a minor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Why did choose to explore with UESP before selecting your current path?
Coming into college, I didn't know what I wanted to study. I originally applied to OSU as an animal sciences major because I was a competitive horseback rider for 12 years and took agriculture classes throughout high school, so I was comfortable in this area of study. I soon realized that there was so much to be offered at a university and I wanted to try other things! I heard about UESP and discovered it was the best opportunity to explore my diverse areas of interest by trying all different kinds of classes.
Share a positive exploration experience you had while you were in UESP.
The most positive experience I had while in UESP was working with the staff and advisors. My advisor took time to get to know me as a person and not just a student, which allowed her to make class and major suggestions that I would actually enjoy. Our meetings were always personal, and she genuinely wanted me to be happy with the classes I was taking. Additionally, the whole UESP staff was very kind and caring. Each time I walked into the office, I was greeted with a smile. This program made me comfortable as I entered college and I felt supported as I selected my final academic path.
What are you enjoying about your current academic path?
So far I am loving being in the College Of Business! The hands on courses make learning fun and engaging. All of my classes have led me to gain some kind of business professional experience; from learning about careers in marketing, to starting my own business and working with startups as a consultant, I have found my fit as a business major.
Meet Coral
Coral is from Westport, OR and is majoring in Chemistry and Microbiology.
Why did you choose to explore with UESP before selecting your current path?
"I knew I wanted to do astrobiology, but that isn't a field that is directly associated with one major because it's so interdisciplinary. I wanted to have more of an understanding of what each major I was thinking about was before I picked one. I wanted to learn more about what students and professors in the majors I was considering actually did and how I might apply that to astrobiology, and I was able to do that by talking to friends, professors, and advisors and asking questions so that I could learn more. Because I was in UESP from the start, I ended up learning about options and majors that I hadn't known about before I came to OSU that I was able to explore."
Share a positive exploration experience you had while in UESP.
"I had an experience where I heard about a class that interested me and mentioned it to my advisor, and they encouraged me to take it because I was excited about it, and we moved around things in my schedule so that it would fit. It was a class that was instrumental in me deciding what major to declare and a very positive experience that I feel like, if I were in a degree with a very rigid pathway from the start, I may not have had the opportunity to take."
What are you enjoying about your current academic path?
"I feel like the types of things I'm learning that relate to my major are things I enjoy as well as things that I can see are related to what I want to do in the future. I'm still very early in my degree pathway so there is still the potential for things to change in terms of major but I feel that where I am now is a good foundation for what I want to do in the future and also things that I'm excited to learn about now."
Meet Diego
Diego is from Eugene, OR and is majoring in Psychology with a Film minor.
Why did choose to explore with UESP before selecting your current path?
"I chose to explore with UESP before selecting my current path because I didn't know what path I wanted to choose yet. UESP allowed me to explore other classes that I only would've been able to take if I declared with that specific major. So rather than jump major to major, UESP allowed me to take whatever classes I wanted to figure out my path."
Share a positive exploration experience you had while you were in UESP.
"A positive exploration experience I had through UESP were the advisor meetings. In the meetings I felt they actually had my best interests at heart. They would ask about my interests and dreams, then recommended me classes that would allow me to explore different majors."
What are you enjoying about your current academic path?
"I am enjoying my current academic path because I am really interested in psychology and future opportunities I can pursue within it."
Meet Alyssa M
Alyssa is from LaGrande, OR and is currently majoring in Public Health (and still exploring Food Science!).
Why did you choose to explore with UESP before selecting your current path?
"I chose UESP because I didn't know what I wanted to do coming into OSU. I didn't want to go into a major that I didn't know for sure I wanted to do. The UESP program allowed me to have opportunities to explore those majors before getting serious about it. I'm glad I went through this pathway because I've been taking classes in the Public Health and Food Science and Technology majors, but also taking care of bacc core at the same time. This path has given me more time to consider my future but be proactive and involved. Honestly, I still don't know what I want to do for sure, but I'm grateful that I have the UESP program to fall back on!"
Share a positive exploration experience you had or pursued while you were in UESP.
"The most positive exploration experience I had while in UESP was with my advisor. She is a kind, caring and very helpful person that I could rely on during my time in the program, and she is still helping me to this day. I had no idea what I wanted to do in college and had a giant list of things I could do, but she took me step-by-step through determining my interests and what I like to do. I was able to bounce ideas off of her and she was able to narrow down that list and make a plan out of those thoughts (even if those thoughts were disorganized...). I greatly appreciate her because she supported me into being open to both Public Health and Food Science and Technology. I didn't feel restricted in any way, and I was able to experience events and classes from both of those fields. She is someone that I can talk to or get another opinion on my academic career, so I'm grateful for her time and effort."
Why is your current academic path a good fit with your interests?
"Public health has let me learn more about the health of the world. I know there are countless struggles that people face daily, but these classes have broadened my knowledge on national issues. This allows me to use that knowledge to understand other people's perspectives and be more empathetic. One of my career goals is to find a job that will focus on helping people. Public health is solely focused on helping others like treating or solving health issues. This academic path will allow me to strive for that goal, making it a good fit with my interest. Also, if I do change to Food Science in the future, food has always been a love of mine. I could cook or bake for hours, so I believe I would have a fun time in Food Science!"
Meet Karlie
Karlie is from Neotsu, OR and is majoring in Human Development & Family Sciences with Ethnic Studies and Indigenous Studies minors.
Why did you choose to explore with UESP before selecting your current path?
"I was not sure which route I wanted to take my first year at Oregon State University. I knew that if I took UESP, I could explore different classes without feeling like I'm behind."
Share a positive exploration experience you had while you were in UESP?
"Doing academic success center zooms! These zooms were very beneficial around finals. They taught me many skills around time management, studying, and college life balance."
What are you enjoying about your current academic path?
"I am loving learning about the careers within Human Development and Family Science as well as enjoy learning about the Peoples that were here first. I am grateful to be able to do something that will directly impact the lives of others.
Meet Riley
Riley is from Corvallis, OR and majoring in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology with Chemistry, Spanish, and Biological Data Sciences minors.
Why did you choose to explore with UESP before selecting your current path?
"When I arrived at OSU, I was still very unsure of what career path and education I wanted to pursue. While I knew I was broadly interested in a STEM degree, I also knew I had many different engaging majors available to me at Oregon State and I wanted to spend time exploring to make the best choice for myself."
Share a positive experience you had while you were in UESP?
"While I was a UESP student, I took ALS 114, a career exploration class designed for UESP students. It helped me clarify what I wanted from a career and scaffolded several enlightening exploratory experiences, especially an activity where I interviewed somebody working in a field I was interested in. I chose to interview a professor about his job, and it encouraged me to go into academia - which helped me work backwards from the topics I'm interested in researching to a choice of major."
What are you enjoying about your current academic path?
"Now that I'm a biochemistry major, specifically with my option in Computational Molecular Biology and my minor in Biological Data Science, I'm equipping myself with a mixture of both dry- and wet-lab skills that will make me a more effective researcher and prepare me for the large data sets I'll be working with in life science. I was able to connect the problem solving and analytical skills I identified as part of my career decisions class with the coding and complex scientific analyses I'm developing in my major."
Meet Whitney
Whitney is from Littleton, CO and is majoring in Ecological Engineering with a Horticulture minor.
Why did you choose to explore with UESP before selecting your current path?
"I chose to explore with UESP because I was intrigued by options throughout many different colleges at Oregon State. I was interested in Engineering due to my love of math and science but was nervous it would be too big of a commitment. Being able to test multiple paths allowed me to have an active part of choosing what would be best for me. It also helped me to choose a major and a minor in different colleges, expanding my knowledge and opportunities."
Share a positive experience you had while you were in UESP.
"While I was in UESP, I was able to take a variety of interesting classes my first year at Oregon State within many different programs. Learning about topics including kinesiology, horticulture, engineering, chemistry, and environmental sciences was an amazing way to meet people in each program. By taking classes in the College of Heath, the College of Agricultural Sciences, the College of Science, and the College of Engineering, I got to try out everything I was interested in and meet a ton of amazing students and faculty."
What are you enjoying about your current academic path?
"My current academic path allows me to combine to passions with difficult class work so I am always able to stay invested and focused. I love being able to spend time outside working with my classmates and instructors, especially when we have the opportunity to do hands on work. Especially after taking lots of notes or learning about challenging topics, being able to enjoy fun and exciting experiences like labs and field trips around Corvallis allows me to learn in different ways and stay balanced and invested."
Meet Kate
Kate is from Highlands Ranch, CO and is majoring in Digital Communication Arts with a Marketing minor.
What did you choose to explore with UESP before selecting your current path?
"I chose to explore with UESP before selecting a major beacause I truly didn't know what my options were or what I wanted. I knew I didn't have a passion for science paths, but didn't truly understand or know my options for liberal arts pathways. For me, it made sense to explore my options without being committed to a degree path."
Share a positive exploration experience you had while you were in UESP?
"While in UESP, I took my first Digital Communication class. It was a basic New Media Communication class where we were learning about how online networks are constantly changing. The professor was engaging and personable, and it was the first time I truly realized that this major could be something that I could connect to my passions. The professor talked about the different pop culture topics and made the learning fun. He cared about his students which made me feel comfortable asking questions and be actively engaged in my learning. It was the first time I felt that I could connect with the content and actively wanted to learn more."
Why is your current academic path a good fit for your interests?
"Digital Communication Arts allows me to tailor my classes to what interests me. I can take classes centered around media, how to design interfaces for users, and discuss how it is constantly changing, and it all connects with my marketing minor. I want to pursue a career in the music industry specifically tour management, artist relations, or marketing, and this path fits really well with what I want to do. I have made some great connections and learned a lot that is applicable to these areas. It has allowed me to feel confident in my abilities to succeed after college."
Meet Chris
Chris is from Creswell, OR and is majoring in Chemical Engineering with Math and Chemistry minors.
Why did you choose to explore with UESP before selecting your current path?
"When I was first admitted to OSU I was unsure of what I wanted to do. Initially computer science sounded interesting, but then I grew to realize that sitting in an office for 40 hours per week while staring at a computer screen was not of particular interest to me. Meeting with a UESP advisor helped me realize that there is no rush with making a decision the dictates the next big chapter of my life...I chose to take time to make the best decision that I could."
Share a positive exploration experience you had while you were in UESP.
"The advising meetings were extremely valuable to me. While in school I began developing ideas of my interests and would express them to my advisor in advising meetings. Without doubting me for a second, my advisor pointed me into the direction of the Biochem department and let me take the initiative to make the next step. Super helpful!"
Why is your current academic path a good fit with your interests?
"I believe this academic path is a good fit with my interests because I desire to understand more about how biological influences can have an effect on the neurological elements within our day to day lives. Thus, OSU is going to give me a background in STEM to aid with my future success with regards to Neuroscience!"
Meet Neeva
Neeva is from Folsom, CA and is majoring in Public Health with Spanish and Chemistry minors.
Why did you choose to explore with UESP before selecting your current path?
"I felt that I was ready for university and to study at a higher intensity, but I wasn't sure what direction I wanted to go with my major. I was originally a Spanish Major, but I knew it wasn't the right fit. I was happy to find a place where I felt I could explore without the pressure to commit right away."
Share a positive exploration experience you had while you were in UESP?
"I was really interested in soil science, but I as I kept taking more of the required classes, I realized that it may have not been the best fit for me. I went to my advisor and we discussed the aspects that I did like, and what I didn't like. We were able to find a path that suited my needs more comfortably."
What are you enjoying about your current academic path?
"I am currently a public health major with a minor in chemistry, and I would have not discovered this combination had I not been a part of the UESP program. I feel that having a physical science to pair with a more social science major is a good balance between my interests."
Meet Bobbi
Bobbi is from Corvallis, OR and is majoring in Psychology.
Why did you choose to explore with UESP before selecting your current path?
"The opportunity for me to return to college came during the fall of 2020. At that time I felt psychology would be interesting, but I was also aware that plenty of other options were available. So I chose to start out with UESP which allowed me plenty of opportunities to take a variety of classes and make an informed decision about my future degree."
Share a positive exploration experience you had while you were in UESP.
"Being part of UESP and working with my advisor was a huge blessing. Through discussions with him I felt supported and encouraged to continue exploring until I was ready to declare a major. The pressure to take a full load of classes was never an issue since there was an understanding that I was interested in finding the right path for me."
What are you enjoying about your current academic path?
"I really enjoy learning about the ways that humans process information, interact in the world, how we show up in different spaces, and what can come into play in certain situations. These topics help me process my own life more fully and be more accepting and understanding of others that I know and have contact with, both personally and professionally."