I’ve been a student at Old Dominion University since Fall of 2021. Since then I’ve had my trials and tribulations, my successes and my downfalls, my pros and cons. Between joining the marching band as the only baritone player and holding my own, going into 200 level classes as a first-semester freshman, rushing for a Fraternity when I told myself I wouldn’t do greek life, and joining the Tuba Ensemble, my first semester was pretty jam packed. However, I would not have gotten here had it not been for a singular decision I made by in Winter of 2016.

The Program

When I was in the Eighth grade, my mother approached me with an opportunity shown to her by my middle school, a summer program called “B.L.A.S.T“, or, Building Leaders for Advancing Science and Technology. It’s a program for rising 9th and 10th graders to stay at a college campus, either UVA, VATech, or ODU, for half a week, and learn about multiple fields of professional science and other STEM research fields.

I took one look at it and thought “Why not?” I had no idea how competitive the selection process was going to be. All I saw was a chance to visit college campuses and get a few days away from my parents, as every middle-schooler wants (I can solidly say now that I miss those days with my parents).