Charisse’s Story

Charisse

“Honestly, if I didn’t have Mr. Gordy’s help, I would probably have had a breakdown. I would not have known where to turn. You can’t find all the answers on a laptop. He was able to call people he knew to get information so we could move forward.”

I admit I was a little intimidated my freshman and sophomore years because there was always juniors and seniors in the Future Center. Once the advisors came in and talked to our classes, I felt more comfortable. Plus, I did most of my homework in there every day.

During my freshman year, the Future Center advisor introduced himself to my humanities class. He then helped me with career planning over the course of two years. I always knew I wanted to go to college. My family really encouraged me to continue my education because they wanted me to do more in my life. I would be the first child to go to a 4-year school.

My junior and senior years, Mr. Gordy helped me in a variety of ways, ranging from help with filling out the FAFSA to contacting colleges. I went on many campus visits with the Future Center to University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Winona State, University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin-Stout. It was a good way for me to compare what each school had to offer. I felt the most comfortable at Eau Claire.

The financial portion has always been the biggest challenge for me.  My family cannot contribute anything, so it’s largely me working and saving up my money to pay for school. I did the FAFSA early in the year with Mr. Gordy and then he started helping me lay out a plan. I work a lot of hours at Office Depot and may work at the store in Eau Claire when I am up there.  I originally got the job to save money to travel to Spain. Then I saved for college but ended up having to buy a new car after my other car broke down. I was fortunate to receive the Roland Locher scholarship and a few from the La Crosse Community Foundation.

Overall, the Future Center has prepared me for college life by helping to ease my mind in decisions regarding which college to attend.  I believe Mr. Gordy pushed me forward on the path to college. I had already made these plans, but he helped make it a realistic goal.

Mr. Gordy is a trusted advocate. I can talk to him casually about things like TV and pop culture and seriously about like the future. I feel like I have a better grasp of what to do if there are issues in the future. I now know how to find resources and what I should follow up on with all the requirements I need for college enrollment.

I would recommend other students to visit the Future Center since Mr. Gordy is fantastic at answering all questions and willing to search for the answer if he does not know off hand.

I think Future Center advisors do a good job speaking to classes about opportunities to visit campuses or starter ideas to get them thinking about their plans. That’s where it all stems from. And then you get into more depth your junior year.

The opportunities have been exceptional here at Logan. I started in honors courses, even though I was told it was too challenging. But I took them anyway. And when I needed help, I went in to get help. I came to understand the course material well.  I got some B’s but I realize that it’s OK even though I’d been a 4.0 student. I didn’t need to put that much stress on myself.

All in all, I feel that have really learned to handle stress: balance a lot of things over the past year — sports, job and schoolwork. I think I should be able to handle work and schoolwork in college.  I am looking into studying either psychology and financial management.  I really like numbers, and I’m kind of obsessed with controlling my money. So that seems like an area that would be a good fit.  But if I stay with psychology, I’d want to go into child psychology — so that means more education. I feel I prepared to handle the independence and responsibility of college and handle this more rigorous course load and schedule. I look forward to exploring all the campus has to offer. There are a lot of different clubs and intramural sports. I am also looking forward to getting to know new people.

Honestly, if I didn’t have Mr. Gordy’s help, I would probably have had a breakdown. I would not have known where to turn. You can’t find all the answers on a laptop. He was able to call people he knew to get information so we could move forward. I had some difficulty with the FAFSA system and my transcripts but once we finally got that cleared up (after I went there in person to appeal to them) the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire came through with some federal grants and additional aid to help pay tuition.

Gordy is one of the best advisors in the school district. I like his charisma and his truthful nature.  He should get a double raise!

 

Attending University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire