Today’s guest was Antoinette Muhammed,

Providence College junior, 2014 Hope High School graduate and 2013 Hope Life Skills student.

Today’s Hope Life Skills host was Zidany Fatuda.

“I thought I knew exactly what I wanted to do in my life. 

After being chosen to represent the Hope Life Skills class for a week in Washington, D.C. at the National Youth Leadership Forum in Medicine the summer after my Junior year and then being selected for a Life Skills class internship at CVS in pharmacy during the summer after my Senior year at Hope, I really thought I wanted to be a pharmacist.  I enrolled at Providence College with this goal in mind”  Antoinette told today’s class.  “But after a few semesters at Providence as a biology major and meeting several new classmates from different countries, different states in America and with different majors,

I changed my mind.  I started to think about different career opportunities

in health care.  I am now focusing on an Administrative or Management position in health care.”

Antoinette spoke about pushing out of her comfort zone to meet new people and professor classroom expectations.

“It’s a challenge to put yourself out there in a strange environment like college;  it makes you nervous.  But, as I look back on it, I’m glad I did.  I learned so many things that have changed my perspective on the future and, as a result, influenced my decisions for today.”

Antoinette spoke about the rigors of college.  “There is so much reading and writing.  The more reading and writing you do now in high school, the better prepared you’ll be for college. 

I think the biggest challenge in college is managing your time. 

Although you have a lot of academic work with your courses, you also have a lot of ‘free time’.  I found you have to use your ‘free time’ wisely if you want to stay in school.”

The class concluded with our Life Skills networking time for students who wanted to add Antoinette to their network and continue the conversation with her.