Tiff: Welcome back to the Transfer Talks Podcast. My name is Tiffany Kim and I'm a Transfer Jacks Peer Mentor. Joining me today is fellow Transfer Jacks Mentor Jeanine. Jeanine: Hello, my name is Jeanine. I've been a Transfer Jacks Mentor or with the Transfer Jacks Program since Fall 2020. I'm a Business Management major. I'm a senior and graduating this semester and, yeah, I transferred from University of Hawai'i at Hilo, so I'm pretty far from home. Tiff: I see. I heard that you have like a very elaborate story about your time here at NAU, so I'm excited to hear that. Jeanine: Oh, yeah. It's been a journey. Tiff: So we're gonna jump into some lighthearted questions and the first question is what do you like about campus slash the NAU environment? Jeanine: I just like how welcoming the environment and the people here at NAU are. So, I initially wanted to go to a different Arizona university, but I did a tour here on campus like the Summer before my senior year of high school, and I immediately fell in love with the environment. You know, coming from the middle of the Pacific Ocean right, you're used to the same thing over and over again. And what I really liked was knowing that Flagstaff goes through all four seasons and it's also two hours away from my family. So, it's not too bad, but yeah, everything just felt so welcoming and I felt like I needed to be here. Tiff: So would you say it felt like another home for you? Jeanine: Oh, yeah, absolutely. It's like my little home away from home, which is kind of now my home, being that I've been here for like four years. Tiff: Oh, that's nice. So do you think you'll stay here after graduation? Jeanine: No, I'm so tired of the snow. Especially after this season. Like I've been telling everybody that this is the worst I've ever seen the snow get since I've been here and I'm like, yeah I'm a little over it now. Tiff: But it's pretty though. Jeanine: Oh, yeah, it is so pretty from a distance. Tiff: From a distance. Jeanine: From a distance. Tiff: So with that being said, what's your favorite memory being at NAU? Jeanine: Just meeting the people that I have met here, especially working with the Transfer Jacks Program. Like I have made some of my lifetime friends working here and then also being able to do things like explore downtown or find different restaurants or I live with a couple of them now, so that's really cool. And then being able to or during Homecoming, I love the carnival. It was my favorite thing in the entire world. Yeah. Tiff: You see, I remember the carnival the most recent one. Jeanine: Yeah. Tiff: It was so cold. Jeanine: Oh, yeah, it's always cold. It's been cold. TIff: But I know that you took a break from being a mentor and then you came back. Jeanine: Mm-hmm. Tiff: So why did you decide to come back? Jeanine: Mainly because I missed how much I loved being a part of this program whether that's as a participant or as being a mentor But I was also kind of going through it that one semester that I took off. So I think to benefit me and my mental health I needed to step away because it's a lot being a mentor. Tiff: Yeah. Jeanine: But nonetheless, it's been my favorite job I've ever had and I think coming back was a great decision and was the right decision. TIff: I see I think everyone on our team. It's like if they're missing, something feels like it's missing. Jeanine: Oh, yeah. Tiff: And especially you. You're the head of the Transfer Talks Podcast, so it wouldn't be possible without you. Jeanine: Aww. Tiff: Yeah. Jeanine: That makes me so happy. Tiff: Okay, so we're gonna jump into a little bit more serious questions. Jeanine: Okay. TIff: You ready? Jeanine: Yes. TIff: Okay, so what was your experience like at your previous school and what is your experience like transferring to NAU, and how are they different? Jeanine: Okay, so, when I graduated high school I went to the community college in my hometown, which I also did dual enrollment throughout high school there, and then after a semester, I transferred to the university in my hometown. So technically I transferred twice, but they were either across the street of my high school or down the street of my high school Tiff: I see. Jeanine: And it just never felt like I left high school. And everybody that I was friends with was going to that university or that community college Tiff: I see. Jeanine: So it's like okay, you know, and then transferring here, it was such a huge change because obviously, I'm 3,000 miles away from home. Tiff: Yeah. Jeanine: Moving away from my parents. And as someone that's like 18, 19 years old, that's scary! TIff: Yeah, it is scary. Jeanine: That's terrifying! But being here now is like, okay, you know, it's not too terrible but I guess the biggest difference is the fact that I had an opportunity to meet new people here and grow here as a person Tiff: Yeah. Jeanine: Compared to at home and like my, my house is like five minutes from the university that I went to so even at that I was like, yeah, I need to, I need to leave, I need to get out of here. Tiff: Even for me I feel like back then, my school was really tiny. Jeanine: Uh-huh. Tiff: And you know, my parents are there. Jeanine: Yeah. Tiff: It's like you're that same high school senior That's like living life. Jeanine: Yeah, exactly. Tiff: Yeah. Jeanine: Yeah, I just yeah, I don't know I, I think that had I stayed at home and not ever moved, I probably would have never really changed I guess or I didn't really I would have never really known what it was like to grow up and I got that opportunity here. Tiff: Yeah, and it's like you're on your own, but not fully. Jeanine: Yeah. Tiff: Cuz there are a lot of people here that support you, right? Jeanine: Oh, yeah, absolutely. Tiff: Yeah, and you know every day you see a new person. Jeanine: That's so true. Tiff: The school is huge. Jeanine: It is. Yeah. Tiff: So another question what advice would you give to incoming transfers? Jeanine: To utilize every single resource Tiff: Yes. Jeanine: That you have access to. I am like the one person and I feel like I'm such a hypocrite when I tell people this too, especially to my students, it's not a bad thing or it doesn't make you any less than if you ask for help. I am so bad at asking for help like I don't want to ask for the help. But becoming a mentor and realizing that it's okay to ask Tiff: Yes. Jeanine: For help like I've slowly started to do that. So like my academic, Academic Advisor bless that person's soul, oh my gosh. The amount of questions that I have had throughout being here. Oh my gosh, I'd like panic and then they'd answer my question I'd feel a little better or using the Academic Success Center for tutoring because I struggled a lot in like Business Statistics and that's not fun. Tiff: Mhm Jeanine: But yeah, just utilizing the resources that you have access to. There's so many resources on campus that not a lot of people are aware of. So, I want to make sure that, especially being a mentor, that people are aware of these resources and that they do have access to them. Tiff: That's true. If you hear it enough, I feel like they would try to reach out and get some help. Jeanine: I would like to hope so. Tiff: Yeah. Jeanine: Yeah, I mean even like our program right? I met with my mentor like two maybe three times and every single time we met she had something new to tell me and I was like I didn't know that, thank you for telling me. Tiff: Even with this job, I feel like I learn new things every week. Jeanine: Oh yeah, 100%. Tiff: Okay, so going into a little bit more specifics. What types of programs departments or people have helped you through the transition from your old school to here? Jeanine: Obviously the Transfer Jacks Program. My mentor, she was also from out of state, so she understood what it was like to move far away from your parents. She also understood what it, what being homesick felt like. And it's not that people that move from Phoenix to here or even Tucson to here for that matter wouldn't feel homesick, but I think it's a little different being out of state. Tiff: Yeah of course! Jeanine: Right and then. Let's see. Some of my professors so when I transferred here, I was a Communications major, and Madrone Schutten was one of the professors that I had my first semester. Absolutely love her. She was genuinely the one person that I knew that if I was going through something, I wouldn't be afraid to tell her. Tiff: Aww. Jeanine: And then the previous Coordinator of Transfer Jacks Leslie Mitchell, obviously. I only met her my second year being here. And even at that like, I had, we hit COVID during that time. Tiff: Yeah. Jeanine: Halfway through my second semester here so I was like, okay, but trying to adjust to COVID and then also being a working student, Leslie really really helped me through that. TIff: I see. That's nice to have all those levels of support. Jeanine: Oh, yeah. Tiff: Even for your like workplace. Jeanine: Yeah, and even now like obviously your transition period never really stops. Tiff: Yeah. Jeanine: So every person that you meet along the way is there to help you, like all of you guys. Tiff: Aww. Jeanine: Every single mentor that I've ever worked with. Tiff: Aww. Jeanine: Yeah. I love you guys! Tiff: That's sweet. We love you too! And let's see. We're gonna go into a little bit more mentor-specific questions. Jeanine: Okay. Tiff: So what's your favorite part about being a mentor? Jeanine: Oh, ahh, my favorite part about being a mentor is meeting all these different types of people. Like being in Hawai'i or growing up in Hawai'i, right? Tiff: Mhm. Jeanine: You meet very very similar people to you. TIff: Yeah. Jeanine: So you're kind of like, okay, and then coming here I'm like whoa, hold on, culture shock. But yeah, every single student that I've worked with every single co-worker that I've worked with, and even like pro staff and whatnot. Tiff: Yeah. Jeanine: Just the people it's so amazing. We have such a wide community here at NAU. So it's definitely nice to be able to meet someone that identifies differently than you. Tiff: Yes. Jeanine: But it's also very very similar to you at the same time. It's like, okay this could work. Tiff: Yeah, and it's nice how NAU has specific dedication towards specific like ethnic groups also like the Asian Pacific Islander Convocation, things like that. Jeanine: You know, I had no idea that that was a thing until I got here. I was like, wait, that's a thing? Because almost every single person who lives in Hawai'i is Asian. Some kind of Asian whether that's pure Asian or part Asian. I'm like, huh, okay. It's cool to be Asian, I guess. Tiff: Yeah, that's very nice. Jeanine: Yeah. Tiff: Very nice. So now we're gonna go into the this or that edition. Jeanine: Okay. Tiff: So we're gonna do rapid fire. Jeanine and Tiff: Okay. Tiff: NAU Gold or Blue? Jeanine: Gold. Tiff: Gold. Why gold? Jeanine: Because it sparkles. Tiff: It sparkles. Jeanine: I'm not really like a glittery kind of person but I do like something that like sparkles a little bit. Tiff: I see, interesting. Okay, North or South campus? Jeanine: North count, North campus 1,000 percent because I feel like it's more lively. But I'm also on South campus like 90% of the time. Yeah. TIff: South campus feels so spread out. Jeanine: It does, it really does. TIff: But there's Starbucks. Jeanine: That's so true. The Starbucks is like right by the business building. But I do love the feeling of North campus and North Quad specifically. Tiff: Yeah. Jeanine: Love North Quad. Tiff: Sun or snow? Jeanine: 1,000 percent the sun. I'm so sick and tired of the snow and I don't like the cold. So it doesn't make sense that I moved here, but I do like the sun, but not when it's like a hundred degrees outside. TIff: I see, but the sun is so strong even when it's cold. Jeanine: You know what that's so true. Tiff: And my forehead gets tanned. Jeanine: It does, yeah. TIff: Yeah. Okay Union or HLC? Jeanine: HLC. I've had a class in the HLC my first semester here and I haven't really been back in there since, but I like how quiet it is. Because I used to hang out in the HLC like maybe a half an hour before my class would start and I'd just sit there and kind of do some homework. And it was really nice and it just felt everyone was like on the same level of okay we got to be quiet because everyone else is studying like we're here to relax, yeah. TIff: You know they have that little dining place there that always smells like good soup. Jeanine: Oh, the cafe? Tiff: Yeah. Jeanine: Oh! My friend used to work there and she would make me coffee and sandwiches all the time. Tiff: Aww. Jeanine: It was my favorite part of the day. TIff: Aww. Okay, morning classes or evening classes? Jeanine: I'm so 50-50 on this because I'm not a morning person, but I kind of like having the morning classes to get them out of the way then that way I have more time in the day to like I don't know, take a nap. Tiff: Yeah. Jeanine: Do some homework, do some work stuff. I want to be a morning class person, I really do. But I also like having a class at like 11 o'clock in the morning, so. Tiff: I see, I see. Yeah, I like getting done early. Jeanine: Yeah. TIff: What about Fall semester versus Spring semester? Jeanine: Fall semester 1,000%. Mainly because you don't have such a big break like Spring Break. Tiff: Yeah. Jeanine: Like obviously you have your few holidays, but after Spring Break, I just kind of don't want to do anything anymore. I'm like yeah, I'm done with the semester, semester's over. No, it's not. But Fall semester because you don't have that big break. It's like, okay, you're consistently doing something. That and then I like Fall, so. Tiff: And I feel like for a fall semester the transfer students who come in, they have a little bit more time to make friends you know. Jeanine: Oh, yeah. Tiff: Go to events, things like that. Jeanine: Yeah, and I transferred in the Fall semester. So yeah. Tiff: Okay, so since you're graduating do you have any plans for after graduation? Jeanine: Not really. Tiff: That's okay. That's okay. Jeanine: I mean, I do want to go to grad school and get my Master's degree. I'm kind of at a roadblock as far as to what specifically, so I am gonna take a little break from school just to kind of figure that out. But yeah, grad school eventually, and then I'll probably just find something to do. TIff: You know, take your time finding out what you want to do cuz that's forever. Jeanine: Yeah, I mean I'm 22. I don't know what I want to do with my life. Tiff: That's still very young. Jeanine: Yeah. Props to anyone that does know what they want to do at my age. Oh my gosh, that's amazing. Tiff: That's ok you got time. Jeanine: Yeah. Tiff: You got time. Jeanine: Yeah. Tiff: So I want to say thank you for joining us today Jeanine and we appreciate your time to join us and tell us your transfer story. Jeanine: Yeah, thank you for having me.