Welcome to the NU Explore Blog | Explore Program for Undeclared Students

By Laura Moya

Hi Everyone! Welcome to the NU Explore blog!

This is a place where current and former students and student leaders from the program will be contributing advice, major moments, personal experiences, and much more!

A quick introduction of myself: My name is Laura Moya and I am a third year Communications and Media and Screen Studies major with a minor in Business Administration (quite the mouthful, I know). I am a Coordinator and TA in the NU Explore Program and I am from Miami, Florida. I am an avid coffee drinker, Netflix junkie, and a travel lover.

For this post, I thought I would share the top 3 pieces of advice that I have acquired during my time at Northeastern so far:

Try something new

Being an undeclared student may be scary at times, and I know it can be stressful not having a definitive path to go down just yet. When I came to Northeastern, I decided that I was going to try completely different classes that I never would have imagined taking in high school. I was always very strong in the math and science department, but I started a new chapter in college and wanted to see where my journey would take me (and by doing this, I was eventually led to my major!). This does not mean you need to give up everything from the past and become a new person, but by just taking one class or joining a club that is not the norm for you may help you during your exploration process and regardless of what happens, you will definitely learn something along the way!

Expect the unexpected

This is just a general guideline to have in life, but especially at Northeastern. There are so many opportunities here that can lead you to so many places, and they may not have been part of your plan at all. Me being a completely Type A personality, I am all about organization and planning in advance, so being spontaneous and going with the flow is definitely not in my nature. However, sometimes you just have to trust yourself and make the best of your situation. For example, my first co-op was in New York City and although it was not what I had intended to do on co-op since it was not completely relevant to what I want to pursue in the future, it turned out to be such a great experience and I gained so many valuable skills that will be applicable and relevant in any work situation in the future. Things may not always work the way you want them to, but that does not mean they cannot work in a way that is unexpected and still have a positive impact.

EXPLORE!

This is what this program, and really this university as a whole, is all about! The major selling point of Northeastern is the co-op program and the global opportunities that they offer, so take advantage of that! This school may be the only one where they do not want you to be at one place for more than a semester at a time. From co-ops, to dialogues, and to study abroad, there are so many ways to get out there and go to places that most people can only dream about. Trust me, all your other friends at other universities are going to be insanely jealous when you get to tell them about the types of programs you get to participate in through your school (and when you either get credit or get paid to do them!). There is no better way to become a global citizen and there is no better time to do that than right now!

I hope this advice will help you in some way or another, and if you ever want to chat feel free to come visit me during my office hours in the Student Leader Office at 1 Meserve! (Wednesdays 2-3 pm)!