By Miriam Mezzetti
One of the most remarkable things about my alma mater, Alaska Pacific University, is that it provides a personalized educational experience to each student. As the APU vision states, the university is “a leading active learning community igniting personal passion, self-discovery, and deep learning.” Because of this, people from all walks of life, united by a desire to learn, converge at APU each school year.
I, now an alumna, was one of these students. Before deciding to transfer to APU, I attended another university. While I am thankful for the knowledge I gained there, and the study abroad experience I had during my time there, I felt like just a number. My student ID number was my identifier and 150+ other students and I would sit in lecture halls; we hardly ever had the opportunity to speak with professors outside of office hours. APU, by contrast, has an incredibly personal and individualized educational experience. Despite only studying here for a year before graduating, I never had to memorize my student ID number and my professors knew me by name. As I walked through Grant Hall most days, I saw that even the freshmen and early honors classes had under 20 students who were all engaging in dialogue and learning: such a difference from the lecture halls of most universities!
A focus on personalized, experiential learning permeates the university. APU, and the interests of APU students, are incredibly diverse. Although APU has a reputation for excellence in the sciences and for a focus on the outdoors, it is so much more than that! I am a very “indoor” person, much preferring to play video games or read a book to going hiking or skiing. Science, while interesting, was not the focus of my major. Because APU cares about each and every student, I felt very much at home here and was able to pursue my own educational interests. Through liberal studies, along with upper division business courses, I was able to design my major to fit my career goals (social media marketing and management). I even was given the opportunity to put my education into practice through writing for APU’s social media team.
I can assure any prospective student with confidence that APU is a wonderful choice no matter what his or her interests may be! APU faculty foster the growth in knowledge and self-discovery of each student, and that is what makes this university so unique.
