Hello, my name is Julianna Hammer.
So, what do you do? – I encourage young adults to break away from the norm.
Me (at the beach)!
Background and Personal Interests
I was born and raised in Lodi, California. I am a transferred junior to UNR, and I am majoring in business/accounting. Despite having a job since I was sixteen, I do not have a current employer. Although I am looking into getting another job, hopefully in the field that I am interested in, so that I can continue to grow my resume. In my free time I enjoy being around my family and friends. I love to go to the beach, play games, watch movies, cook, bake, and try new coffee shops. In this class I hope to become aware of valuable skills and mindsets so that I can be a valuable contributor to any place I work at. I hope to learn how to be even more well rounded in the field of business and learn how I can work myself up the ladder in a company.
Early Academic Motivation
From the fourth grade to graduating high school, I was very academically focused. When my brother and I were in elementary school, my parents took us on road trips during fall break. On these road trips we would go visit colleges. The goal was that my brother and I would be encouraged to do good in school so that we had an opportunity to attend the colleges we were visiting. When I was in the sixth grade, my family and I visited UC Santa Barbara. After our visit, I was immediately determined to go to a UC school and live by the beach. Once I announced my determination of such an achievement, I was flooded with advice that I had to have exceptionally high grades to get into a UC school.
My family on our roadtrips
High School Pressure and UC Admissions
Now, here is my story that led me to answer Clay Hebert’s question the way that I did. From the fourth grade to graduating high school, I put immense pressure on myself to continuously get good grades so that I could attend a UC. Fast forward to my senior year, I applied to various UC colleges, graduated from high school with a 4.2 academic GPA, got accepted to UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara, and I committed to UC San Diego. Ironically, and despite how attentive I had been with school, I had not the slightest idea of what I wanted to major in or what career I wanted to pursue in life. I decided to suggest that I was going to be an anesthesiologist. I chose this because anesthesiologists have a very high paying career. Therefore, my next determination was to make a lot of money in my career after college. I was still unsure of exactly what I wanted to do, so I attended UC San Diego as an undeclared major, but leaning towards the medical field route.
My commitment photo to UC San Diego
Realizations at UC San Diego
It didn’t take long for me to realize that I didn’t particularly like being a seven hour drive or a plane ride away from home, I was not getting a good education for what my parents and scholarships were paying for, I was burnt out from working as hard as I did in high school, and my queasiness was not fit for the medical field. Unfortunately, it wasn’t for me, and I had two options. I either stayed at UC San Diego with hopes that it would get better for me, or I transferred and saw where it would take me. I ended up making the out-of-the-norm, uncomfortable decision to transfer to San Joaquin Delta College; a community college in Stockton that wasn’t far from my home town. This dumbfounded my parents as their highly qualified daughter would leave a UC and attend community college in Stockton. I was just as appalled, however I knew within me that UC San Diego just wasn’t the right fit and I didn’t think it was worth the money, especially since I wasn’t set on a career.
Choosing a Different Path: Community College
Despite the skepticism, I am beyond proud of myself for making the out-of-the-norm decision to come home and attend community college. Community college put less pressure on myself and I was able to explore a career through getting a job. I ended up getting hired at a local accounting firm in Lodi. I had never considered taking the business route, let alone accounting, but I took up the opportunity willingly to try it out. To my luck, I ended up loving my job. I was able to attend community college and build my credits while working Monday-Thursday from 10am-3pm, and from 10am-5pm during tax season. I learned so much and got such valuable hands-on experience. I realized that I was learning and retaining more than I ever had in school.
A New Perspective and Reapplying to Universities
When it came time for me to apply to college for a third time, I had an entirely new perspective. I was going to apply to schools that would fit my personal standards and ones where I saw myself having high success. I was going to choose one that was closer to home, one that could be interpreted as less stressful, one where I knew I could have fun when I was able to take a break from my studies, one that was a more reasonable price, and one where I knew some people that already went there so that I had a buffer. I was also going to major in business/accounting. It ended up working out so that I would attend the University of Nevada, Reno. I have loved it here at UNR and I feel completely different than I did at UC San Diego. I am confident in the education that I am getting, I really admire all of my professors for their way of teaching, I love what I am learning, and fortunately I am able to utilize skills that I obtained at my accounting job.
Committing to UNR
Reflections on Education and Real-World Experience
As I have gotten older and through reflecting on my life, I have become aware of many flaws within the education system and its standards. I think that many kids are subject to falling into a similar cycle that I fell into due to the amount of pressure that is put on young adults to go to an exceptional school. It is failed to discuss that college can be very lonely at times, there is a lot of uncertainty, and there is more to being a product of your education. What also isn’t discussed is that the lackingness of one’s resume won’t be beneficial after getting out of college. Having experience speaks volumes, arguably more than having the education to fend for it. Holding experience in the field that I am now interested in will set me above the game when I go to get a job after college. I am also determined to get a job, hopefully in the field of accounting, over the next two years that I am at UNR so that I can continue to build my resume. Hence, another way I consider myself stepping out of the norm is by pursuing to get another job instead of joining a sorority. Quite frankly, I am not a fan of sororities, and I have always known that I would never fall in the trap to join one.
Stepping Outside the Norm
I think that doing the unexpected and setting yourself apart from others makes you stand out in a positive way. Many people will graduate from the same college that you did, many even with the same degree, but what sets you apart from all of those people is what will make a difference. It is uncomfortable at times to drift away from the norm and from what is expected of us as young adults, but if doing it will ultimately make us more comfortable with the position we put ourselves in, I am confident that we will eventually be led to realize how it worked out in our favor. My family and loved ones are all relieved to hear how well I am doing at UNR and very proud of me for following my gut and for stepping out of my comfort zone in exploring what works best for me. I encourage others to do the same.
My friend Livy and I at UNR