Na’Shell Palmer is a rising sophomore eager to touch all corners of campus. Through her professional and personal development in the Women’s Leadership Institute (WLI), Black Student Union and Gospel Choir, Na’Shell is preparing herself for a successful future career.
Read more about Na’Shell’s college journey:
I am from Battle Creek, and I have been here for my whole life. My town is a place where a lot of people know each other and help one another out; it is a great place to be because you are more than likely to know others or to get to know others around you. I chose to attend The University of Olivet because of that same feeling, and I wanted to attend a smaller college not too far from home. Once I had gotten an email from La’Rae Trice, OC Gospel Choir director, I knew I really wanted to attend because I also had a chance to do what I love.
My participation in the Gospel Choir allowed me to earn a scholarship, along with many others I had gotten from the Battle Creek Community Foundation. I also have a couple of alumni family members who attended The University of Olivet and gave me their opinion on how they felt when they attended.
I am involved in the Women Leadership Institute, which I joined because of an experience I had with a group similar to it called Young Women for Change, so I was very interested. My experience with WLI so far has been great, especially with how many inspiring speakers they bring to talk with us. I heard about the Black Student Union from the upperclassmen, and I wanted to be involved in anything that had to do with my culture. I joined the Gospel Choir because I have been in choirs since I was in middle school, so I was very happy to be involved in something that I loved to do. And also, I joined the Latino Club because one of my friends was the one who started the club. I’m interested in learning about different cultures, so it was fun to participate in activities to learn about Latino culture.
Business administration is my major. I always planned to have a concentration in business management because down the road, I would like to be able to manage my own hair salon. I already have half of my hours for cosmetology school finished, but I decided to come to Olivet and proceed with hair school after I graduate. I’m leaving my options open and communicating with my professors on different mentorships that they can get me into.
I have had a lot of experiences at Olivet that have shown me that the whole College acts as if we are family. I have had a couple of challenges when it came to classes, but there are a lot of people that were willing to help me succeed at Olivet. There was not one time that I asked for help and didn’t get it. My relationship with different professors, mentors and other adults at Olivet is great. They support me in getting into new subjects they think I’m good at or give me feedback on what I should do differently. They encourage me to make sure I get myself out there and keep being a great role model for my classmates. What I have learned here has benefitted me a lot as a person and made me feel at home. I really opened up a lot and tried different things that I would have never done before.
My number one piece of advice that I would share with high school students is that it is okay to have fun, but remember the reason you came to college is to get your degree and learn more than what you started with.
Learn more about The University of Olivet by contacting the Office of Admissions at 800-456-7189 or admissions@uolivet.edu.
This feature was written by rising junior Chad Enwright, Marketing and Multi-Media Student Associate. He is a resident adviser, member of the football team, chief recruitment officer for Phi Beta Lambda and a business administration major who aspires to invent and operate his own high-tech, home security and automation business.
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