Senior Year Outlook

Making the Most of Your Senior Year in College


With the fall semester of my senior year coming to a close I have been taking time to reflect. I have been looking at what I have accomplished up until this point and what I am still trying to get out of college. I found the article above very interesting and insightful while aimlessly searching the internet. The section about personal growth and becoming the person you want to be stood out to me. I really have used college as a platform for both of these things. Heading into my senior spring I don't want to get away from my personal development and achievement just because the end is rapidly approaching.

U.S. Air Force Acquisitons Officer

U.S. Air Force - Career Detail - Acquisition Manager


After nearly a 3 1/2 year wait, I found out this week that I am going to be an Air Acquisitions Officer in the U.S. Air Force. The process of finding out my job took a very long time and I have patiently waited. While I have always been interested in being a Public Affairs Officer upon graduation I am excited for what this career field will entail. It was one of my top choices and I am happy that I got chosen for such an interesting position. It is going to be another journey that I am going to make the most of. The U.S. Air Force website above explains what an Acquisitions officer position is.

Alachua County Organizations Help Students Outside Classroom

Over the past few weeks I have been working on a feature story for my Radio 2 class. I have been collecting interviews, going out in the field doing research and I am finally finished. Over the past year I have been doing a lot of reporting. Below you will see the web story that compliments my radio story. I did my project on children in the county seeking help outside of the classroom. Not every child can be successful just by the instruction they receive in the classroom. Take a read and see learn about the organizations that are helping students in the county! 

Alachua County Organizations Help Students Outside Classroom

Taylor Hagan

More than a dozen non-profit organizations throughout Alachua County are assisting children outside of the classroom. The organizations are providing after school programs where students receive tutoring and mentorship.

Kids Count, a non-profit organization in East Gainesville serves 60 elementary students each week. Kids Count provides students with an opportunity for extra support in the community to succeed in and outside of the classroom.

Executive Director of Kids Count Bill Hutchinson says that 94% of the students and 100% of third graders have seen an improvement in school.

Hutchinson says “character, social skills, behavior in classrooms have all been improved and that’s from reports from report cards, conferences with teachers and with parents telling us that it has made a big improvement in their lives.”

Many children throughout the county are not able to receive this type of tutoring outside of school. President of Kids Count Dorene Ross says the program can’t serve every kid because of the expenses.

Ross says “It’s very motivational for the students that we serve but high quality afterschool care is not inexpensive.”

Ross went on to add that the schools that Kid’s Count serves have very high populations of children coming from low income homes.

Aces in Motion is another program in East Gainesville that serves elementary and middle school students in need of help.  Aces in Motion is a youth program that uses tennis and afterschool tutoring to promote character development and academic achievement.

AIM After-School Director Naseeka Dennis says that the program is beneficial because the students get the attention they need.

Dennis says “Not only do they get that one on one but they are able to go to their separate room and go at their own pace.”

The program strives to teach the children character development through playing tennis. Dariana Williams a student at Williams Elementary school attends the program every day and receives tutoring twice a week.

“It did help me improve at my school because they help me with my homework, they explain it more clearly and help me with. I’m getting good grades.”

Kids Count and Aces in Motion are just two of the many non-profit organizations in Alachua County. Schools, churches, organizations and businesses in the community are working together to help the children find success.  

#SaluteToService

WATCH: Needless to say, Saturday was a very special day in #TheSwamp thanks to @GatorsFB and @TAPSorg! #SaluteToService #GoGators pic.twitter.com/fEpJUxHrZ7

— GatorVision (@GatorVisionTV) November 15, 2016

On Saturday the Florida Gators Football Team participated in the #SaluteToService. The salute to service is not only happening for the Florida Gators. Throughout all of college football and the national football league this is the way they are giving back. On Saturday I attended my last Florida Gator football game. It happened to be the Gators #SaluteToService game.

As you may know by now, I am in the Air Force ROTC program at UF and I plan to commission in May of 2017. I am sharing this video/tweet because it meant a lot to me reading about this. In my time at UF I have always worked as hard as I can to leave a mark. The men and women in this video have sons, brothers, sisters, etc. that worked hard and ultimately made the ultimate sacrifice.

I look at this video as I head into a career to defend this country. I hope that one day I can return to the Swamp and be recognized for something great. Something that I gave my all at, just like the men and women honored in this video.

360 Degree View of Innovation News Center

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Today I took a 360 degree picture of the Innovation News Center. The INC has been a big part of my academic career here at UF. I have spent most of my junior and senior year working here. Recently I have been doing a lot of radio producing and reporting for my Radio 2 class. I go out in the field and find news stories and report on them. I come back to the INC and cut up the sound, record audio and put all the pieces together on air. I enjoy working here and I am so grateful that I can attend a school that has a news center for me to get practical experience.

Senior Year Vacation

Every year my family from all over the country (mainly Virginia) all meet up for a family vacation. This year we rented a house in Destin, FL. This was an extremely fun trip and it was awesome that I have had the opportunity to go on trips like these throughout my college years. Below is a picture of the house we rented. I am fortunate to have the family I do and I never take for granted the times I spend with them. It's amazing to know that we can all come together year after year even with a lot of stuff going on. While this did set me back in school and I had a lot of make up work to do, it was worth every minute.

Big Heart Gators that advocates for organ donation. The UF Club will be holding there second meeting of the semester tonight. James Schnitzer, Vice President of Big Heart Gators, has all the infomration needed to attend the meeting.

 Throughout my time at UF I have been involved in this organization. I relate a lot to this organization because my Aunt received a heart donation just over a year ago. I saw the immediate impact of what organ donation can have.

Interesting Article: Senior Year Advice

11 Things I Wish I Knew Senior Year of College

While I was scrolling through twitter and clicking on different articles I came across this article. This article provided me with a few tips that I am going to carry with me through my senior year. I got a lot out of this article. I found that many of the tips have to do with employment after college. It really drives home the importance of networking and building a resume for work opportunities outside college. Keeping in touch with people at internships can only be beneficial. Luckily I have my career path lined up with the U.S. Air Force post college but this reminds me to keep building relationships, working hard and doing whatever it takes to gain more opportunities.