The time for graduation has come around and for some Tyler Junior College students the questions are: “What do I do?” and “What’s next?”
“Going to school at TJC has allowed me to meet a ton of new people and has taught me to accept other people’s ways of thinking,” said Christin Larry, a 19-year-old sophomore studying business administration.
Larry plans on transferring to the University of Texas at Dallas to receive her bachelor’s degree.
“I expect to learn more about business, especially since I got all of my basic classes out of the way,” she said.
Daiston Thomas, a 20-year-old sophomore majoring in kinesiology, said her experience at TJC was great. “Me being from here, I got to meet new and old people. When it comes to the last semester in school, as a student you must stay focused and keep following your dreams.”
Thomas said that he plans on seeing bigger and better things once he transfers to University of Texas at Arlington and gets back to playing football.
Sophomore Kiara Williamson, 21, a criminal justice major, will be transferring to the University of Houston and looking for ways to pay for college.
“I chose the University of Houston because it has a great law program, the school and area are beautiful and the school credit is good,” said Williamson.
Applying for college and scholarships has been the main thing that Williamson has been focused on. Williamson said she will be living off campus so getting a job will be necessary, because financial aid can only do so much.
“The one thing that all students, especially graduating students should do is put their school and morals first, stay focused, and then you can have fun later,” Williamson said.
Seth Clark, academic advisor, 31, said students must follow certain steps in order to graduate.
“If a student is graduating they would need to talk to an academic adviser so that we can look at their degree plan,” said Clark.
“Once we look over their degree plan, then we would make out a check list to see if the student has completed all of the classes needed for their degree.”
The basic things that a student needs to have done before they are able to transfer or graduate is to be Texas Status Initiative complete, meaning, they are ready for all college course work.
Students need to have completed at least 25 percent of the degree plan they are taking, have a GPA of 2.0 or better and complete other degree requirements. Once all that has taken place, the student will have to fill out a form to apply for graduation.
Students graduating in the spring must apply by April 2 and pay all fees for their cap and gown and any outstanding tuition and fees.
“I would advise students to come talk to an advisor every semester so they can make sure they stay on track with their school work,” said Clark.
Clark explained that students are not required to finish all degree plan classes in order to transfer, but that it gives the student a sense of accomplishment, if they do so. It also gives them an upper hand when it comes to jobs because it shows the employer that the student can complete objectives.
“If you are interested in a certain school, go ahead a visit the school first and see if you will be comfortable in that field,” said Clark.
If the setting of the school doesn’t fit the student’s needs, it could affect the learning capability of the student, he said.
For more information about graduating, send email to scla@tjc.edu or call Seth Clark at 903-510-2425.
