Becoming a PAL for CNR has been one of the greatest choices I have made these past four years. I not only get to help students during my usual office hours, but I also get to be involved with some really fun events hosted by CNR. Spring semester is a busy one for the PALs because we are involved in a lot of additional outreach to potential freshmen admits, answering questions, participating in online chats and meeting with students and their parents. Cal Day, especially, was fun since we held student panels, gave campus tours, and I got to meet a lot of eager high school seniors.

This semester I am also the website coordinator for PAL. I create photo pages of our recent events and help maintain the PAL blogs. We’ve received so much positive feedback from our blogs and I am so happy that our hard work is appreciated among the campus community and beyond. I’ve actually been recognized, while running errands, as a PAL because of our blog page so it has been really exciting. Each week we post multiple entries to share our experiences and provide lots of advice, so check us out regularly!

Aside from all the advising we do, the PALs also host movies nights for students. It’s a great way to meet new people, watch a film you’ve been dying to see, eat some great food and relax from the stress of classes for FREE! We’ve seen so many great movies like Into the Wild, Ratatouille, Juno, and The Transformers! We have big comfy couches to watch to film in so it’s super cozy.

I will be graduating soon so I keep reflecting over my experiences here in CNR and how much fun I have had, how much I’ve gained from getting involved with the activities, and how I’ve grown these past four years. Being a PAL has given me leadership experience, a voice in the CNR community, and the confidence to speak in front of large groups. I have also met so many interesting students and faculty on campus by becoming a PAL and have so many stories to take with me when I leave CNR. I hope you get as much out of the PAL program and CNR as we put in, and I hope to see you at some of our events!