Chippewa Pride

CM-Life published this piece last week.  I hope alumni can relate and students can be inspired.  CMU is a fantastic community of scholars, if you put in the effort to make it such.   Good luck to my fellow 2012 graduates!  Make the Chippewa community proud!!



As I have reflected on my recent Fulbright award, there is one thing I wish every student at CMU felt about their education---pride.

Over the last four years, I’ve been quick to diminish the goodness of a Central Michigan education.   Mistakenly, I assumed Chippewas weren’t competitive for top graduate programs or national scholarship programs.

Here I am, now a recipient of a prestigious fellowship and heading to a graduate program ranked 2^nd in the country for my field.  As a freshman, I would have said you were crazy if you told me it’d be me on the front page of CMU’s website.

Students here have the potential to achieve greatness.  We are competitive against students from University of Michigan and Michigan State, even against Ivy League students.  

Personally, the Fulbright means a lot. Poland has always been a large part of my life and I hope to continue incorporating it into my career.  I have worked incredibly hard in my classes, research, internships, and extracurriculars to achieve this. 

However, I think this award serves a bigger purpose.   I want it to be an inspiration to any student who doesn’t think they are competitive. 

I hope it convinces you that your degree can mean as much from CMU as it does from anywhere else.  Central Michigan is not a second class university.  It is a place where learning can and does thrive.

Education is a personal journey.  So I can’t give you a magic formula for success, but find your passion.  Pursue it.   Do research.  Find internships.  Work hard.  Get involved.  

Find confidence in your abilities.  Own your education and your success.   Seek out advice from professors. 

 Above all, be proud to be a Chippewa.