Name: Sharley Ditmore

Class: Junior

Major: Elementary Education

Hometown: Fayetteville, North Carolina

Clubs & Organizations: Student Education Association, President; Resident Assistant in FYE, 2 years; Monarch Tour Guide

Favorite thing about MU: The family-like atmosphere and size of campus

Best moment at MU: Being chosen Resident Assistant of the Year my first year as an RA

Favorite thing to do in Fayetteville: Walk the Cape Fear River Trail

Internships, independent study or other interesting academic endeavors you’ve done while at MU: 3 semesters in 3 different schools for Education courses, 5 semesters in the Honors Program

Career aspirations: Elementary School Teacher and eventually an Administrator

Something about yourself that people would be surprised to know: I have been employed as a deckhand on a boat

Favorite movie: Hotel Rwanda

Favorite TV show: Grey’s Anatomy

Favorite book: The Odyssey

Favorite color: Pink

Do you prefer the beach or the mountains? Beach

Methodist University has support programs in place for every area of college life. If you want to succeed, the help is here. I read about Methodist’s First Year Experience (FYE) Program on their Web site. The program helps freshmen transition to college life. Everyone in the program lives in the same residence hall and participates in activities together. I thought the program would be a way for me to learn about the University. I thought it would be more like family.

FYE is close-knit, yet open. I think having the First Year Experience helped me put down a foundation at Methodist that showed me I could be independent and successful and still be close to my family. Starting college with the large group of friends from FYE gave me the confidence to get involved and that has made my whole college experience so much more valuable. I thought FYE was such a positive thing that I became an FYE resident assistant. Now I help new students with everything from leaving the comfort of their home to finding the cafeteria. Working with students has helped me learn to deal with people and problems. These are skills I know I will use as an elementary school teacher.

At Methodist, I have built lasting friendships. I have built confidence in myself. I have achieved my goals academically. If you ask my mother, she would say that a lot of that began with my Freshman Year Experience.