Why Am I Here?
by Maya Vanderleest
Attending college for the first time can be quite stressful, I should know. I am currently attending Lake Superior college for my generals or otherwise known as an AA (Associate of Arts) degree. Afterwards I plan to go to transfer to a school within the MNSCU system to complete my bachelor’s degree. The MNSCU system is a Master Agreement Between the Minnesota State Board of Trustees and the Minnesota State College Faculty. This means any school within the system will accept your college credits. There are 26 colleges, as well as 7 universities, for you to choose from. Some examples of these colleges are Bemidji state University, Hennepin technical college, Minnesota North college, as well as so much more.
I personally can find myself to be overwhelmed with the number of colleges and universities I can choose from, in addition to what major I will be selecting. With this in mind I decided to move from a suburb outside the twin cities to Duluth to attend our own LSC, as I stated before for my generals. Generals are one of the first parts of completing a bachelor’s degree. This is where a student must complete all main courses that a school requires, such as Math, English, or Art credits. A student must complete up to 60 credits to complete their AA. Lake Superior college has this in mind for many students especially there for their generals. Though it is important to note that not all schools in the state of Minnesota are under the MNSCU system, UMD for example is not. This does not guarantee that all credits earned at LSC will transfer to every school. You can avoid this by using transferology.
When deciding on what to take as well as when, a helpful person to ask for guidance is your Academic Advisor. Lake Superior college had 6 advisers, each happy to help. Depending on what the letter of your last name starts with is how you find out what academic advisors are your own. For me personally I found that going Sherry Dalager, my advisor, was especially useful. She walked me through what I would need to complete for my generals and answered any questions I had. Together we decided what the best courses were for my first semester of college that fit the requirements of generals in mind. I highly recommend that you do the same if you too feel confused or overwhelmed with the number of classes offered here at LSC.
The next question you may ask is what comes next after I complete my AA. This is something I tend to question as well. It can be ominess thought trying to figure out what the next big step in your life is. The careers services offered at LSC can be an immense help to this. Some of the things they offer are creating and working on a career plan, finding career interest, as well as job application. I found that this can be monumental to finding your path to a job you love.
All these resources offered at Lake Superior college are helping me plan for my future, such as a stated before being ready to transfer. Yet I understand the benefits to upstanding this great school such as LSC having the second lowest tuition cost in the state of Minnesota. This allows me to save for my future, or more specially for university.
Overall, Lake Superior has been huge for me in trying to to find my own career path. Such as accomplishing my generals here, the help and support they offer through academic advisors, and their career services they offer as well. LSC being a part of the MNSCU system has been such a relief for me and has given me a certain grace period to learn more about myself and interests while finding out how I can incorporate this into my future career. I want this fact to be known and to help other young students such as myself, find the right paths for them at Lake Superior College.
