Kirsten Tablizo
From the moment I opened my acceptance letter from Cal State Long Beach, I knew I was in for an incredible ride. Only two people from my hometown were also going to be going to college in Long Beach, so I was definitely a little scared to move down here. Luckily, I found my place right away. I found the most incredible group of lifelong friends and mentors who have helped make my transition to Long Beach easier than I could have ever imagined.
I am extremely grateful for all the amazing friends, professors, and mentors who have taught and inspired me throughout my time here. There is no way I would be graduating early if it was not for all the support I have received.
I came to Cal State Long Beach right after high school. My mom and I drove down to Long Beach during my senior year of high school to tour the campus and I immediately fell in love with it. I had been accepted into every other college I applied to with a full scholarship, but I still rejected their offer. However, when I found out that I had been accepted into Cal State Long Beach with a financial aid offer of $6,000 in loans, I did not hesitate to accept the admissions offer. It has been almost three years since then and I can honestly say that I do not regret my decision at all.
I tried to be as involved as possible throughout my years at CSULB, which was easy since there were numerous campus organizations that stuck out to me. I am an officer for both the Rotaract Leadership Club and Sigma Alpha Lambda. I am also a student of the Leadership Academy, a member of the Student Communication Association, and I sing in one of our campus choirs.
I absolutely love every organization I have had the opportunity to be involved with, but Rotaract has been the most impactful for me. I spent many of my weekends and holidays waking up at the crack of dawn to read to kids, plant trees, administer the Polio vaccination, package food for the homeless, and so much more. It was such a wonderful feeling to spend so much time with a group of people who bonded over our mutual love for community service. Rotaract has changed the way I view the world and for that I feel incredibly blessed.
My advice for any student would be to take advantage of Week of Welcome and get involved. It is amazing to see how much one organization can shape your college experience.
A few weeks into my freshmen year I decided that I wanted to graduate with my bachelor’s degree after only three years. I was told by many people that I would not be able to do it or I would miss out on various opportunities if I did. Of course, I did not believe any of this was true and I was able to prove them wrong. I got involved with as many organizations as possible to maximize my time at CSULB. I even became an officer for the Rotaract Leadership club on campus the summer before my freshmen year and have been an officer ever since. I have held numerous leadership positions since then including being the Community Service Project Coordinator for the Ukleja Center for Ethical Leadership’s Student Leadership institute, Class Manager for the 49er Choir, Vice President for Rotaract, and Secretary for Sigma Alpha Lambda. This year I hold a position as the President of both Rotaract and Sigma Alpha Lambda and I am also the Assistant District Governor for Rotaract District 5320.
In addition to my extracurriculars, I also wanted to explore possible career options. Last winter I applied for a job as a Student Assistant at the California State University Office of the Chancellor and was offered the position a few weeks later. At the same time, a friend of mine had also put me in contact with a campus recruiter for Target’s summer internship program. After about five interviews, I was offered a position as an Executive Intern for Target over the summer. I did not want to give up my job at the Chancellor’s Office for the internship, so I decided to do both and work a total of 60 hours per week the whole summer, while also taking summer classes. A few weeks after my internship ended, I was contacted by a local non-profit organization that I had become familiar with and was offered a job that I did not even apply for.
A lot of people think that it is not possible to do it all, but speaking from experience, I would say it is totally possible! If you make a plan and have the motivation to follow through, then you can do anything you want to do! We have so many amazing opportunities available to us; we just need to have the courage to make that first step.
My goal is to attend graduate school immediately following graduation. After that I would ideally like to get my start as an event planner in the entertainment industry. Somewhere down the line I would like to open a non-profit that focuses on giving the homeless population a chance to rebuild their lives. I am sure my plans will change a bit along the way, but I can guarantee that I will spend the rest of my life devoted to helping others because that is where my heart is.
