Journey with Jackson

What's going on? It’s Jackson here to fill you in on the first couple of months of my sophomore year here at UAH. It has been very busy, but also some of the most fun I’ve ever had. Right off the bat, I moved into my new residence hall at the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house. I have to say, living in a house with ten of your closest friends is just as exciting as it sounds.

After moving in, I jumped right into Week of Welcome events. I had a great time doing silent disco at Rock the Rec, trying my luck at the Chargers after Dark casino night, and putting away some barbecue at the Charger Blue Barbecue. Overall, the first week of school was filled with fun events that set a great tone for the rest of the semester.

When Week of Welcome ended, I immediately jumped into classes, fall rush, and my new job at the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Fall rush for Alpha Tau Omega definitely took up a good chunk of my time. I got to go to a lot of cool events and meet some great new people. It was a great experience getting to see it all come together at our formal pinning ceremony. 

I am also very excited about my classes this semester. All of my professors are great and I am really enjoying the content, especially in my Accounting class. 

In a semester filled with firsts, I also got to start a new job for  the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Getting to interact with potential new students and give campus tours to families is right up my alley.

Overall, this year so far has been better than I could have expected. All the new opportunities and friendships made make me really excited to see what the rest of this semester is going to hold.

Charge On! 

-Jackson

As soon as the first month of school ended, classes started to pick up quickly. I found myself spending a lot of time in the Charger Union or in my room hitting the books. Outside of academics, I’ve had some awesome opportunities come my way these past few weeks! Starting off, we did the photoshoot for the Admissions Office billboard, and I have to say that everyone in it was looking like a million bucks. Keep your eyes peeled for that billboard to go up soon! 

Soon after that, I decided to interview for the 2024 Orientation Leader Coordinator position, which would allow me to help plan and organize next year's New Student Orientation events. I went into the interview very confident, but also a bit nervous; however, after a week or so, I got an email saying that I was offered the position! Celebrating that win was good, but short-lived because I almost immediately got straight to work planning how we can make this year's orientation great. We conducted hours of interviews for new orientation leaders, which was a very cool and rewarding experience.

After getting the coordinator position, I decided that I wasn’t done running for new positions. Alpha Tau Omega had our yearly round of executive board elections, and I decided to throw my hat in the ring for vice president. I was very pumped to hear that I won the election, and I am excited to get started next semester!

Additionally, I attended the College of Business career fair where I got to speak with over 20 companies from all over the area, including Cummings Research Park. This was a very cool experience hosted by the College of Business.

With all the schoolwork and interviews for these new positions, I had to sprinkle in some fun stuff to take my mind off it all and relax. I found myself hanging out with all my fraternity brothers at the ATO house a lot, and I hung out at some great places just a few minutes from campus, like Dave and Busters, Main Event, and Bridgestreet. Overall, these past few weeks have been really busy, but I’m so thankful for all the opportunities that are coming my way. As always thank you, Future Chargers, and I’ll see you soon!

Charge On! 

-Jackson