The Next Chapter: College Advice Part 1

Podcast Transcription

Money Talk is a podcast brought to you by PFCU where we will share tips and tricks and talk to the experts on all things finance related. Join us as we cover everything from credit and loans to cyber security and careers. No matter where you are in life, PFCU is here for you.

Maddy: Hi everyone, welcome to another episode of PFCU’s Money Talk Podcast, I’m your host Maddy. I am very excited for this, kind of mini series that’s focused on college life, preparing for the next step and specifically, scholarships. There is a reason that I am focusing on this topic at this time because PFCU’s McCrumb scholarship is now open on our website for any of you high school seniors that are members of PFCU. Please take the time to apply so you have a chance to receive the one of ten $1,000 scholarships to be used for your education.

Okay, so my first guest to discuss this is Paige Pung, she was a 2022 McCrumb Scholarship recipient and as you will hear and as you will hear, she was very much deserving of that and has a lot of advice to share as she is currently in her freshman year at MSU. Advice about high school and entering college doesn’t really get any more real or valuable than it does coming from someone who is literally living through it right now. So please join me in welcoming Paige.

Paige: Yeah! My name is Paige Pung and I graduated from Portland High School. I live in Portland, Michigan and I’m currently attending Michigan State University and majoring in Packaging while pursuing a minor in sustainability.

Maddy: Very nice! It’s always great to see women pursuing engineering degrees. I think that’s pretty cool that you’re pursuing that. Alright, so, you were a recipient of the McCrumb Scholarship last year. Could you just go into a little bit how that scholarship impacted you, if you’d like to share what you used it for, how it helped you and maybe other scholarships that you received and how those impacted you as well. That would be great.

Paige: Yeah, so, with all the scholarships I received, all of them went towards my tuition at MSU because it’s very expensive for tuition there. And I’m incredibly grateful for all of them I got, I think I ended up getting three and they were all pretty good sums of money, which all of them helped, they went towards my tuition this year. There was just, it was a very enlightening experience because I worked really hard throughout high school for good grades and made sure I was active in my community and just tried to do everything to set myself up for success in college. And when I applied for these scholarships and actually got calls and emails about, oh you actually got this, it was so, it just made me realize that my hard work was going towards something and that I was able to help myself for the future and with money and taking extra money off my tuition. It was just helping me in the long-run, it was kind of like playing the long game. That was very, a rewarding experience for me.

Maddy: Yeah, I think that’s great that you, in high school were thinking, what can I do now during my high school career to help me in the future and it paid off for you! I think that’s really a good message to send to young people that are still in high school or even those in college that could look for continuing education scholarships that are going out to students that are already in school, that your hard work paid off. That’s good advice. Could you expand a little bit more on advice that you have for those currently in high school and what they could do. Maybe speak to that a little bit more?

Paige: I would say number one, is apply to any scholarships you can. Just get yourself out there, even if it seems like you’re never going to get this one. It’s just, it’s so important because I believe also that the process for applying for scholarships is important too because you realize, you kind of take a look back and you’re like woah, I have done a lot of stuff and I am a good student and I know I’m capable of this and I deserve this. And it’s just kind of a like, a reality check on yourself and you’re like, I do deserve this and other people deserve this too but I think I deserve this more. And it’s kind of, it’s not like being bragging about yourself but it’s just kind of like, knowing your worth and I think that’s very valuable for someone going into college and just being self-assured that I do deserve this.

Maddy: Yeah, I think that a great perspective and I think it’s okay to say that you are bragging about yourself a little bit because you deserve to every once in a while, right? And that reminds me a little bit of, like, when you start your resume building and looking back on the things you’ve done and saying, wow, I really have done a lot, let me put it out there and see what I can get. I mean, it doesn’t hurt to apply, like you said, even if you don’t think you could ever get it, I mean, you still might. I mean, you said you received three and no matter what, it’s always going to be a little bit of a surprise knowing you have competition, so, you never know. So what kinds of activities and things did you do in high school, what were you involved in?

Paige: Yeah, so, I played basketball, golf and softball for all four years of high school. I was a member of NHS and also the Captain’s Club and I was also working at Taco Bell in Portland for like, on the weekends and everything, but, I was very active, maybe not in terms like student council and all that, playing an active role in planning things but I was showing up for practices after school. Oftentimes I wouldn’t get home until 5 or 6 at night and have all my homework and I was very busy! It was a lot, at least for my senior year it was too. But yeah, I would say I was very active in my high school career throughout everything because I was always, especially during the summers too, I’d be practicing all three sports at once because they’d all plan in accordingly so I could go to every single one without any time interfering, so.

Maddy: A part-time job, that’s a great thing to have in school. Maybe some kids don’t realize that working during high school, I mean you’re busy with lots of things even if it’s just school itself, having that part-time job is a great thing to have. All of your sports that you did. You’re in school until, what? 2:30 or 3:00? And then on top of that you’re going to sports and on top of that you have homework and on top of that you have a job on the weekends? All of things may not seem like a lot at the time but, like you said, once you write it all down and you get it out there, obviously people were impressed by it, we were impressed by it and that in-turn can give you money to help with your education. Do you have any advice for the seniors that are going to be freshmen next year? If you could have, like a survival guide, what would be your top tips?

Paige: Well I would say my first tip would just be to take it day by day and not look at the long goal of, oh this is going to be… I’m going to be here for the next so many years. It’s, that was like, very overwhelming for me when I was first moving in and was like, how am I supposed to do this? I feel like I was just picked up and dropped off and was expected to survive.

Maddy: Yeah!

Paige: And I didn’t really have anyone around me so it was, I would just say giving yourself a break and knowing that its going to be rough. You aren’t used to this, you aren’t used to living in a new place and new people and everything’s just new. And it takes a while to get used to it and you fall into a pattern and routine and I would just say, give yourself a break and know that it’s going to get better and you’re going to find your way and you’re going to find a routine and a thing that works for you. And you’re going to find things to look forward to, like, I would always, at least now, I enjoy, I like eating so enjoy going to the cafeteria and finding the new foods and trying the new foods. It’s a little me time, I don’t have to think about classes, I don’t have to think about anything, I can just enjoy my food and I like that and I look forward to that. I think that’s something that’s helped me a lot, get through the stress of the classes and exams and just… and I’m also working at the college too, I’m working at the cafeteria there so…

Maddy: Oh nice!

Paige: It’s just helped with a lot of that and I guess I would also say to not be afraid to question some of your beliefs and expand your comfort zone because in the end, I think that’s what a lot of people go to college for and it’s one of the best places to do it because everyone is trying to find out what they’re going to do with their life and where you’re going to end up because you don’t know any of that stuff and it’s just, I just say try to make the best out of it. And have a positive outlook on things and know that it’s only temporary.

Maddy: That’s awesome advice, it’s very insightful. I look back on my college career and everything you said rings so true. Being dropped off and you’re in this new place and you feel like you’re alone and it’s overwhelming, you kind of just want to run away and go back home where it’s safe and it’s comfortable but it is all temporary, you know. You make new friends, you meet new people and before you know it, you have your routine and it just turns into your life and it’s just what you do and it’s, you start to enjoy it and have a little more fun. Before you know it, it’s over, it’s over in the blink of an eye so that was really good advice and I encourage anyone listening to this to really take that to heart because I think it’s very true. Is there anything else you want to share when it comes to anything to do with schooling, anything you’ve learned, anything that surprised you?

Paige: I would say at least, what surprised me is how many college events happen without you even knowing, kind of. MSU has at their cafeterias on the little tables they have, I think they update them every week, and its little events that you can go to and where they are, when they are and what’s going to be going on. And I would I would say, try to take advantage of those because just getting yourself out, that will help you get familiar with the campus as well, when you’re trying to learn where everything is at and everything seems disoriented and you’re like, where am I? It just helps going to those events and being present and trying to take the most out from them and not just going through the motions. Trying to talk to people because everyone, at least when you’re freshmen because a lot of the freshman go to the same events so they’re all, everyone’s in the same place and you realize that no one really knows what they’re doing, they’re just there because they don’t have anything else to do and their just trying to find their own footing. I would say looking into those and finding something you enjoy whether it’s going to the gym or going to the library, making sure you’re taking time for yourself and making sure you’re taking care of yourself too and know that you have to take care of yourself to do, to even go anywhere in life and if you’re trying to do well in college, you have to take time to really focus yourself, because you can’t all be studying, that’s not going to get you anywhere. You still have to have fun and you still have to enjoy yourself and I think prioritizing that would be very helpful for a lot of people.

Maddy: Yeah. It’s easy to get stressed out and really lose yourself in all the studying and the classes and you have to kind of, let that go every once in a while, and enjoy yourself. Just one more thing, I would love to know, if you want to, I know we’re still a little bit, you have a few years until you got your degree and all that good stuff. What’s your goal upon completing college and graduating? What do you hope to do, where do you hope to be?

Paige: So, I guess, with packaging they have lots of companies that are out of the south so I guess one plan for me would be to find a company further down south, maybe South Carolina or Texas. And I don’t really have a plan of what type of industry I want to go in yet, whether it’s cosmetic or automotive or something but with my minor in sustainability I want to work with a company that really prioritizes that and is trying to help the environment and make things more recyclable or compostable and stuff with that. And I’m also involved with CoPPAC, the Coalition of Packaging Professionals Club on campus and they bring in lots of companies. Like, smaller ones and even bigger ones and you can definitely tell who’s more focused on sustainability and who’s a bigger brand maybe not so much. And it definitely makes me want to work for a smaller brand focused more on sustainability because that’s important to me and what I want to be doing with my life is trying to make products more compostable, recyclable, just make it better for the world because obviously packaging isn’t going anywhere so we have to make it, sorry I’m trying to figure out the words, just make it better for the environment and better for future generations so they don’t have to. It’s just one little tiny step that I can make and I can try to have an effect on the world.

Maddy: It’s pretty amazing that you’re thinking about that and you know what you personally find important and I think that’s also important for young people looking at what they want to do is maybe not jumping right into this company that maybe has a great job laid out for you that you want to do but does that align with your personal beliefs? Is their mission the same as what your mission is in your life? So that’s a great message. Aright, well that was all I had for you, Paige! I really appreciate your time and all of your awesome insight!

Paige: Thank you.

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