Hi. My name is Tatyana Slayton.
I am one of the content creators at the University of Kentucky.
And today we're going to be asking seniors to reflect on their time here at the university.
So come along with me.
So your first question is, what is your favorite memory as a Wildcat?
Think of like right now, my senior year, living with my friends from home and being, like
close to campus and just kind of being a part of everything as a senior.
It's been a lot of fun.
I think my favorite memory is probably freshman year, all the different events that they offered.
We got a lot of like free food and free shirts and you got to know other people on campus.
Uh, favorite memory is probably this past fall, whenever our football team beat Florida at home
and just seeing everyone out on over on the streets, you know, by University and State
Street, everyone celebrating and kind of going crazy.
It's definitely one of the more memorable ones.
What is your favorite thing about UK?
Honestly, my favorite thing about UK is the community, because like UK is such a big campus
that you feel like that maybe there isn't a place for you, but there always is.
There's not only the huge community of being a wildcat, but there's also the smaller communities
within for the things that you're interested in or for your major and I'm part of a writer's
Discord right now the UK students have come up with.
So it's really just the sense of community and the sense of like supporting each other
that I love the most.
My favorite thing about UK, I think is the atmosphere is one reason why I actually chose
to come here.
There is a lot of a lot of people that just were super nice and inviting and I just really
liked it a lot.
I just love how like inclusive it is and like how tight knit the campus is.
But you can also find different things for yourself, whatever you want to do and kind of
going to basketball games and sports events.
I feel like it always just gets so exciting.
I love the atmosphere.
What advice would you give to incoming freshmen?
Don't be afraid to put yourself out there.
Join every single club that you think you'll be interested in.
Even if it doesn't work out.
I join the Pokémon Club because I love the Pokémon.
Yeah, they have a Pokémon club here.
Go out and see if there are clubs that you can join because having those friends and
that support system will definitely help you.
I would probably just say like to meet, you know meet as many people as you can, meet people in
your classes, meet people that are outside your major, you know, different variety of
people that you can hang out with.
And because, I mean, those will be the people that you make the most memories with, most
make the most memories with and, you know, kind of have fun with and make the whole experience
good.
I would say just like live every moment to the fullest.
Like go be a part of everything try to get involved because you only have four years here
so you want to make it count.
I would say do all the things that, you know, put you outside of your comfort zone because
that's one thing that I wish I would have done more because you meet so many people
that way.
How would you describe the first moment that you came to UK's campus?
The first moment I walked on campus it was raining, pouring down like I couldn't even
look two feet in front of me.
It was a raining that badly, but it did lighten up eventually
whenever we got to Willy T
and that's when I really ended up falling in love with campus.
We just stopped at it one summer and we were passing through on vacation and kind of a
first time I stepped on campus was
I knew I wanted to go here.
The first moment I walked on campus was a tour and the day was beautiful.
I was able to see it in like its prime in the spring time and we were like, you know,
exploring the Gatton Student Center and the various like other buildings.
And then once the tour ended, it started to rain.
But that didn't really dampen my mood at all.
I was able to see UK's campus on the bright days and the dreary days, so I was able to
see its full size.
And I was like, it's still pretty in the rain.
How has the UK prepared you for the future?
I feel like it's really set me up for like a professional career and understanding, like
how to be reliable, get deadlines, done, and just like be a part of something bigger than
yourself.
I think they really prepare me because I'm going into graduate school, so I feel like
they set me up with a lot of resources and experiences that will guide me in my grad school.
UK has given me so many good materials in order to prepare me for my future career.
Especially the Career Center has been very helpful in preparing my resume and getting
my LinkedIn all set up.
So and it's been it's been getting me ready to take those steps.
UK has prepared me for the future by handing out a lot of resources.
There are so many people that are willing to help you if you just go out and ask.
There's just going to be like a lot of people that are going to point you to these resources
and just be with you every step of the way saying, you got this, you can do this,
don't be afraid.