After 6 long, torturous years of watching my dad suffer through a terminal illness called Pick’s Disease, my entire life was changed. He died when I was only 12 years old. A few months later, my mother gave me an old sketchbook that he had drawn his dream house inside of. I cherished that book because it felt like Mom had given me a piece of him. From that day forward I promised myself I would pursue a career in architecture and build him that house one day. I came here to USF as an architecture student and worked my tail off to be accepted into the highly competitive graduate program. I was accepted on my first try after my sophomore year. I was absolutely sure it was what I wanted. That summer before starting the program, I applied for a job as an Orientation Team Leader for USF, and I got it! I figured I would have one last amazing summer before beginning my four-year-long journey in the architecture program full of late nights, studio isolation, and basically spending almost all of my time building models, diagramming, and preparing presentations. I was a few months and several thousand dollars away from making, what could have been the worst decision of my life.
However, my summer as an OTL turned my world upside down. I was presented with a career option I never really knew existed. Being an OTL was fun and fulfilling and made me feel great about myself and about helping others. It was like a whole new world opened up right before my eyes! I knew then, where I truly was meant to be: Higher Education and Student Affairs. I did a lot of soul searching that summer trying to figure out if I was making the right career choice for me. I was terrified to give up architecture and possibly make the wrong decision, but I was even more terrified to determine the rest of my life according that what my dad’s dream was. I wanted to honor his memory. I wanted to become what he always wanted to be. I wanted to be able to do what he couldn’t. But, ultimately, I had to choose what was right for me.
I switched my major to Psychology that summer and deferred my admission into the College of Architecture and Community Design. After the summer ended I began new classes and another new job working as a Student Assistant in the Office of Orientation. I have been thrown into an even bigger world of Student Affairs. I’ve been answering phone calls with question after question. I have been helping put together OTL recruiting programs and training manuals and materials. I have just begun working with the Orientation Advisory Board to help make orientation the best it can be. I have been appointed to Dr. Meningall’s Circle of Student Advisors. I have been attending student affairs information sessions, asking my bosses tons of questions and researching graduate programs all over the U.S. I am in a whirlwind of orientation and student affairs and I could not be any happier. This was absolutely the right decision for me and I am never looking back.
I do still hope to build that house for Daddy one day. I may not be the architect and I may not be the “official” designer, but I’ll hire someone I know and trust and I will do all that I can to make his dream come true.
Melissa Mayfield
Cynthia Bacheller
Emmanuela Stanislaus
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