Today we speak with Emeli Valdez, a sophomore biology major on a pre-med track, from Cherry Hill, Camden County, who lives on campus in Edgewood Apartments. Emeli will share her #PROFspective with us on what it’s like to be a Rowan University student and how she’s getting the most out of her college experience as a Rowan Prof.
Name: Emeli Valdez
Major: Biology in the College of Science & Mathematics
Minors or concentrations: Pre-med track
Year: Sophomore
Housing: On campus, Edgewood Apartments
Hometown and County: Cherry Hill, NJ (Camden County)
Academic clubs:
Rowan University at Camden Alliance of Student Activities (RUCASA) (President)
Do you work on campus?
I work at Rowan Camden as an assistant in the Educational Opportunity Fund office.
Why did you choose your major?
I chose biology because I would like to go into the medical field and biology gives me a good background to see what I will be working with in the future.
One reason why you chose Rowan? I chose Rowan because it is not far from home but also because it’s small, you learn more and it is diverse.
My Typical Day as a Rowan Student
Tuesdays are my busiest day on campus. I have a 3 hour class in the morning from 11:00 a.m. until 1:45 p.m. After this class I take the 2:00 p.m. shuttle to attend the executive board meetings for Rowan University at Camden Alliance of Student Activities, which last about an hour. Here we talk about potential events that we will organize for the students and brainstorm ideas for future plans. RUCASA acts as the body of student programming for Rowan at Camden to develop educational and recreational programs, to foster leadership awareness and skill and to provide awareness to the university community regarding the many cultures at Rowan at Camden. After this meeting I take the 3:45 p.m. shuttle to attend chemistry at 5:00 p.m. back in Glassboro. I really rely on the shuttles to get to and from my classes.
After class I go back to my dorm relax and start working on all the assignments that were was given to me throughout the day.
On Thursdays, I luckily don’t have class. However, I work on campus and have programs going on throughout the day. I wake up at 7:00 a.m. to get ready and take the 8:15 a.m. shuttle to Rowan University Camden Campus Building to make it to work for my start time of 9:00 a.m. in the Educational Opportunity Fund (known as EOF) department assisting the advisors, helping within the office and organizing for different EOF programs. I work in the office until 1:30 p.m.
When I get out of work I start planning for Rowan University Camden Alliance of Students Activities (RUCASA) event, which are usually done on Thursdays. I always set up the tables, make sure the food we ordered arrived, decorate the place with the theme of our event, and make sure we have our activities organized for our event. As president of RUCASA I need to make sure everything is in order so that the event goes smoothly and everyone enjoys themselves. After the event is over it’s usually me who cleans up everything and puts it away. As usual, once I am done I get my things and head back to campus to start working on homework.
At the end of the day I shower and go to sleep in my nice and warm bed. I’m thankful to live on campus. Juggling a lot of things throughout my day can be tough but the most important thing I’ve learned is to make time for yourself. This way you stay energized and can continue what you are doing. So, make time for yourself, relax and breathe. Be happy with what you do.
We are #RowanPROUD and we are Rowan Profs! Not exactly sure what a Prof is? It’s our owl mascot, Whoo RU. Read about him here.
Story organized by: Jen Green and Natalia Panfilova