Katelyn To
Being an out-of-state student, I really wanted to reach out and make connections with people that I could build lasting friendships with. I came to Long Beach not knowing a single person, which was terrifying yet exciting at the same time. I’ve made many friends in my classes and different organizations on campus. From my first day 3 ½ years ago all the way to today, I believe that a majority of our students are laid back and are easy to talk to. The whole Beach experience would be boring if you had no one to share it with and I’m thankful for all the friendly people I’ve been able to meet and call my friends. Everything at the Beach is better. Our athletic games are always a great way to spend time with friends and to show school spirit. I always loved the student section at all of the sporting events. From volleyball, basketball, hockey, and baseball, everybody comes together to cheer on our team and the crowd creates so much excitement and school spirit.
I only joined IBA this past fall semester and was able to grow a lot from it. I started off as just a curious member who wanted to join for the sole reason of networking with other business majors, but as soon as I discovered that there was an opportunity available to be on the board of executives, I applied. During my first semester in the club, I held the position of Director of Fundraising. In this position, I had doubled the attendance and money earned in comparison to fundraisers held in the past. I am currently the Vice President of Corporate Relations where I am in charge of bringing in guest speakers from different companies to talk about their experience in the international business world. I am also in charge of connecting to companies that are interested in giving company tours to the club.
Being part of Tri Delta really touched the philanthropic part of my heart. The philanthropy that we support is St. Jude Children Research Hospital where all of the proceeds raised at events goes directly to them. Through my high involvement with St. Jude and all my fundraising efforts, I was able to get my family involved. Last year, there was a St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway in Las Vegas and my mom decided to take part in it. Architects, contractors, and designers come in to build a home for free and raffle off tickets for people to have a chance to win the house. With the backing of my family's company, my mom donated interior shades for all the windows of the house. It is truly a blessing to have my family just as involved as I am in raising money to research and fight childhood cancer.
I did not know what Cal State schools were at all throughout high school and had only thought that it was either UC or CC. When I went to a college fair at my high school, I came in there with one idea. “Go to California.” As I was going down the rows pretending that I was interested in the schools I saw, I heard my mom call for me. My mom handed me a bunch of flyers and I introduced myself to the young gentleman that was recruiting students. The recruiter was so lively and so cool in comparison to the older recruits that were strictly professional. This one was genuinely welcoming and made me feel comfortable and excited about looking at all the schools. His energy made me realize that this was supposed to be an exciting time and not a stressful one. The selling point for me to look into and apply to CSULB and was how well he represented the campus. He brought in a wow factor that the other schools at the fair were lacking. I wish I remembered his name but his representation of CSULB is the reason why I came to this university.
I only applied to the Long Beach campus of the CSUs because my biggest reason for wanting to go to a school in California was for the beaches and outdoor activities. As cliché as that sounds since I heard the same thing at SOAR, the beach is an attractive feature. When acceptance/rejection letters started coming in, I was becoming more and more anxious. My dream was to come to California. The UC schools waitlisted and rejected me, but that was honestly a blessing in disguise because it saved me from being in debt with student loans. My last chance at my dream coming true was in an envelope from CSULB. As soon as I got the letter saying I have been accepted, I didn’t even care to look at other schools that accepted me. I did not know it then, but I know now that from the moment of talking with the recruiter, CSULB was my top choice. Now I can’t believe I am graduating and will be leaving this place behind.
My next goal is to continue living in the SoCal area instead of moving back home with my family. I want to make a life for myself here, but it is very expensive to live here. With that being said, what comes next is me finding a job or a paid internship so that I can put my years of schooling to the test and make money. I do not plan on going back to school for a Master’s degree until after I gain many years of work experience. If the opportunity presents itself in the future, I will pursue getting my Master’s degree, but until then I am focused on pursuing a career in my field and gaining work experience.
I got involved because I feel so attached to Long Beach that I can’t imagine what it will be like severing my ties to the school. I want to stay in the Beach community and utilize all the resources I can while being an Alumni. There are so many opportunities that are available and I would really like to take part in the Alumni Mixers so that I can continue to build my network and develop both personally and professionally.
