Laura JagGuide

Hey baby Jags! The process of choosing a college was extremely difficult for me. Coming from a college town, all of my friends were choosing to stay in Troy instead of venturing off for school. Although this thought crossed my mind, I knew I wanted to "spread my wings" and find a new home.  I finally had to sit down and pray about the situation, asking God to lead me where He felt I would flourish the most. As I researched colleges and weighed my options, I decided to visit South on my mom's request. When I stepped on campus I knew that I found my home away from home. I was close enough to the beach, where many of our family friends live, that I did not feel as if I would be alone if I needed help with anything. The campus was beautiful and the perfect size for me. Also, I knew I wanted to go into an Allied Health profession and the professional programs had great reputations at South.  After my summer semester at South, one of my professors sent me an email that made...

Hey baby Jags! Coming to college, I knew I wanted to be in the medical field but not necessarily a doctor or nurse. I entered South as a Pre-Physical Therapy major and we were required to take a freshman experience course that focused on all of the Allied Health programs and professions. As I learned more about Occupational Therapy, I felt that this would be a perfect fit for me. Changing my major to Pre-Occupational Therapy was a hard decision for me but I knew, personally, I would ultimately be more satisfied with my career choice and have a slightly less stressful educational career at South. I knew I wanted to work with children and I would have the opportunity to focus on pediatrics within the OT field.  My final career goal is to work as a Pediatric Occupational Therapist at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. The fulfillment I will get from helping children gain independence will make my many years of education worthwhile. Trust me, whatever career yo...

Hey baby Jags! "We Are South" can mean so many things to the students here. We are diverse. We are innovators. We are family. To me, WE ARE HOME. From the family I have found within my sorority's sisterhood, to the best friends I have made outside of Greek life, I feel that I have truly made a home away from home at the University of South Alabama. Coming to South not knowing a soul filled me with anxiety and I was unsure what my college experience would hold, but I found a sense of peace when I was surrounded with the people across this campus. I have found friends through many different outlets, whether it be classes, clubs, or attending events held on campus. Although I only have one year of undergraduate studies left, I am comforted that I have made connections with people that will always be a part of my life and in my heart, and I am thankful that South will always be a place that I can call home.    Now let my wipe my tears and get to work ;) ...

Hey baby Jags! The JagGuides are coming at you live this week with some behind the scenes scoop on South Alabama. I'll be hitting you with a few fun facts about our university. 1. OOZEBALL. Once a year, students get together to play volleyball in 6 feet of mud. I know it doesn't sound appealing to most, but every year it is LIT. Everyone looks forward to Oozeball coming around.  2. Our baseball team, which you can catch in action at Stankey Field, has made 25 appearances in the College World Series tournament. Talk about ballers! 3. The youngest student ever to graduate college was Michael Kearney, who graduated from the University of South Alabama at the age of 10. Child prodigy FTW! 4. The Mitchell Center houses some of our classes. The Mitch is where our basketball games and other events take place, but classes are held here in the basement. Imagine being a freshman walking to your first class and having to navigate through the Mitch to find it. Lucki...

Hey baby Jags! We have officially passed the midterm mark of the semester and things are getting REAL. I have honestly enjoyed this semester so much and done well in the classroom, but there are inevitable challenges we all will face as college students. The main challenge I have faced throughout my almost 3 years at South would be managing my time. I currently am taking 17 hours, working part time on campus, juggling a few different clubs and honors societies, and finding time for philanthropic work and sisterhood events with my sorority, Kappa Delta. It can be extremely difficult to find time for everything thrown at you and you definitely will go through periods of time where you feel as if you spread yourself too thin.  I have learned that making a list each morning when I wake up is extremely beneficial for me. On Sunday afternoons, I will write out all that I have to do for the week. Each day when I wake up, I will pick 2 or 3 assignments or extracurricular things t...

Hey baby Jags! This week we have been reflecting on how South has prepared us to reach our goals, whether they be short or long term. I could go on forever about how much the staff here has helped me through every little bump in the road. I am a Professional Health Sciences major with a concentration in Health Management, and my "minor" is Pre-Occupational Therapy, so I belong to the Covey College of Allied Health. The health field as a whole at South is state of the art in every aspect. From my freshman year, each staff member I have come in contact with has pushed me to my highest potential. I want to give a special shoutout to my academic advisor, Mrs. Stearns. When I felt like I would never graduate (trust me, you will all feel like this at some point) and when I was questioning my choice of major, she laid out options for me and helped me think of a back up plan in case things didn't work out the way I planned. Just knowing I had another option to fall back on to...

Hey baby Jags! It's Valentine's Day and this week we are reflecting on the many reasons we love South Alabama. I could honestly go on forever about why I love South and what drew me here, but I will keep it short and simple. South is family. From the second I walked onto our campus I felt at peace and at home. I was surrounded by professors who truly cared about me and my education and people who continuously lifted me up through the late night study sessions and 8 am lectures. College is hard, but South has made it a little easier these past three years. So here's to you and me, South Alabama. Thank you for my 11,761 family members. I am so thankful to be a small portion of Jag Nation. Love & light xx Laura Jag Guide

Hey baby Jags! We are well on our way into this semester and so far it has been smooth sailing for me. One of my favorites classes this semester is BLY 121: Life Science I. Because I took my harder sciences my first two years, this class is filled with mainly freshman and sophomore students. So far it has been a refresher course of things I learned in high school Biology. I am getting to re-learn how our body works and all of it's functions and it has been extremely interesting to me. Also, any class is enjoyable when you have a great professor. My professor makes sure she makes things relatable and tries to interact with us as much as possible to keep us involved in lecture. Honestly, I am enjoying all of my classes this semester and I hope it continues this smoothly throughout the rest of the semester. Love & light xx Laura Jag Guide

Hey baby Jags!  Picking the college you want to attend can be extremely stressful. It can get overwhelming to muddle through a list of schools and deciding where you want to spend the next 4+ years of your life can be very scary. Everyone approaches the college-picking process differently, but I will give you three tips that I used to help decide on a university. 1) Money. For me, I looked into scholarship requirements and figured out how much assistance I could get from each university I was interested in. Finances are a huge factor for most people when deciding on a college. I found that South was the most affordable and I was able to earn the largest amount of scholarship money here as well. 2) Location. I come from a college town so all of my friends stayed in our hometown for school. I wanted to get away but also be close enough to home to be able to get to my parents if I ever needed them. South is about 3 hours from my hometown of Troy and about 45 minutes from the...