Student Successes-Ralston Dorn
Directly out of high school at the age of nineteen, I didn’t go to college because I didn’t want to at the time. I went to paramedic school instead and thought it to be the best thing I had ever done.
It wasn’t until a year later and after successful completion of paramedic school that I realized there was one thing I hadn’t done yet… college. I already had post-high school vocational training and two successful jobs, and yet I felt incomplete, like there was this big portion of my life I hadn’t embarked on.
Enter Texas Tech University. From the moment I stepped foot on campus when I was touring as a junior in high school I knew that if I ever made it to college, Texas Tech is where I would go. UNT has too many trees, UT is equal to taking classes in a bunch of skyscrapers, and A&M (really?) there’s nothing pretty about their campus.
But, Tech… Texas Tech had everything I wanted: a beautiful Spanish style renaissance appeal to their architecture, a nice open-aired spread out campus, and not so many trees that one can’t see the light of day. I could go on with tons of wonderful things to say about Texas Tech, rather, I’d like to focus on one thing in particular: The TECHniques Center.
Over four years I have received one of the best educations in the State of Texas and numerous hours of help from tutors, peers, and counselors. I know that my history degree and Spanish minor would never have been possible without the help of all involved. The TECHniques Center really was able to grasp on to who I was/am during my first semester and use that as a cornerstone to help build me and allow me to grow in my education.
It occurs to me that over my four something years here at Texas Tech, I’ve had the ability to learn from 7 different, but equally trained tutors. While I may have been older than every one of them, each has taught me valuable lessons in life that will follow me for days to come. Through the TECHniques Center and their specialized one-on-one individual tutoring, I have become a more self reliant and dedicated individual. That’s not to say I still don’t procrastinate like I used to, but the TECHniques Center really allowed me the opportunity to learn to work with my horrible ability to procrastinate.
I think one of the best things about The TECHniques Center was the fact that they were there when I was not. By this I mean, when I shipped myself off to do study abroad in Seville, Spain for a semester, Student Disability Services and the TECHniques Center continued to offer me the accommodations I needed and help and guidance through email and over the phone… all while being half way around the world. It is secondary to extraordinary support and effort that they put into my education, that I made the Deans List that semester (the only time I’ve ever done that!).
In closing, I know three things to be certain: The TECHniques Center is the reason why I have over a three point GPA and never failed a class, the reason why I will be graduating in August, and most importantly the reason why I know I will be successful in my future endeavors.