Kayla Toivonen is majoring in Psychology. She plans on graduating in the fall of 2021.
Why did you major in (whatever your major is)? After high school, I had no idea what I wanted to do next. I knew I eventually wanted to work with kids but didn’t know whether I wanted to go the psychology, social work, or education route. I stayed home for my first two years of college and attended UW-Washington County (now UWM-Washington County) in hopes of getting more of an idea of what I wanted to do. I took two psychology classes in my first semester there and enjoyed them enough to cram a few more into my second semester schedule. After taking almost every psychology class the campus had to offer, I decided I wanted to major in psychology and transferred to UWGB to continue my education.
What are your plans after graduation? I would like to go to graduate school to either pursue child psychology or school psychology.
What academic experience or accomplishment are you most proud of? I am proud of being able to say that I earned an associate’s degree debt-free before transferring to UWGB. I would not say that I would recommend juggling three jobs to do this as I did. But I am proud to say that I made it work.
What single thing do you hope to accomplish at UWGB before graduating? I hope to graduate with the feeling that I made the most out of my short time at UW-Green Bay. I have been doing this by taking advantage of internships, taking classes out of my comfort zone, and making sure I make time for the friends I have made while on campus.
What do you do for fun? Pre-Covid, I made it a point to try to go to at least one concert a month. I have a long list of bands I would like to see in the next few years and find it to be a good source of stress relief. I also enjoy hiking and have recently found a new interest in scary movies.
What else do you want people to know about you? I want other students to know that transferring to a new campus is not as scary as it seems. Do what is best for you and don’t feel like you have to have the same plan as your friends. I have had a very different experience from my friends, but I definitely do not regret it.
