Senior spotlight: Lane

In honor to commemorate our seniors leaving our lovely admissions team, we are highlighting their experiences at Eastern!

Lane - Class of '21

Welcome to Lane’s feature in our “Senior Spotlight” series. Lane is from Huber Heights, OH. He majored in Biology with a concentration in Cell and Molecular Biology. We are honored to have him as a part of our admissions team for the last few years. Here is Lane’s story!

What was it like when you were choosing colleges?

It was intense when I was choosing colleges, mainly just because my parents never went to college. I was the first one to go to college out of my whole entire family. So, it was a whole new learning process on what questions to go ahead and ask, what to look for in a college, and knowing what my perfect fit was. Knowing that college was my biggest time for growth was a big scary thought for me. Trying to figure out where I felt safest and most welcome was the most daunting task.

Why did you choose EMU?

I chose Eastern at first because of my scholarship. It was hard to say no to that. When I came and took my tour, I could really see myself here. I didn’t want a big campus where it took me 15 minutes to get from one class to another. I liked how small and close-knit everything was. I, also, enjoyed how new the Science Complex was and how welcoming the professors were.

What were your experiences with clubs/involvement here at EMU?

The club and organization life offers so much to choose from. You have an array of academic clubs to choose from as well as nonchalant clubs like bird watching and squirrel watching. You also have gaming/sports clubs. There are just so many to pick from, so there is no reason to not be involved in one. I also feel like it is so ingrained into Eastern to be part of something. It’s endless what can happen. Personally, I joined Greek life. It gave me a sense of security away from home. I knew I had friends who were always going to be there. It led me to some great times as well. We worked with the University of Michigan athletics doing concessions; we got to watch the game for free and eat free food the whole time. We took trips across the country just for fun, and sometimes for conferences. We would visit other chapters. I remember, during my freshman year, I went down to my hometown because there is a chapter at the college there.

What were your academic experiences here at EMU?

My classes were fun and gave me a new challenge. Dr. Clemans is my favorite professor, hands down. He and I still talk to this day, even though I don’t take any of his classes. We will just go ahead and talk about his runs, and he asks about my job searches and how my life is. He is one of my professors that has turned into a good friend here at Eastern. One of my favorite classes was Food Microbiology with Clemans. Pretty much all we did was cook, talk about the microbes interacting with the foods and environments, and eat the food afterward. That was really sweet because it led me to be interested in food sciences. I also enjoyed Human Anatomy and Physiology because I love learning about the human body. Cell and Molecular Biology was probably my most stressful class, but it gave me a big push to study and focus hard on my grade. I got the grade I deserved and the payoff was awesome.

What was your experience with life on campus/Ypsi?

Life on campus was awesome. Pre-covid, there were people walking around all the time. I had friends I would see just walking up and down campus and say “hi.” I worked in the marketplace at the beginning which was right next to my first-year residence hall, Hoyt. I pretty much just walked out the door and was at work. It allowed me to know everyone in that area. Life in Ypsi is a ball and I enjoyed it very much. I often went to Aubrees, Maiz, and Los Amigos; big food-related items. Depot town has a lot of that to offer. Along with that, the coffee shops are awesome; I really enjoy Cultivate. It is also a ton of fun to walk around the town and do photoshoots. There are a lot of shops that are great to go and just look around in, especially if you like boutique or streetwear clothing.

What is/are your favorite memories that you've made here?

My favorite memories were karaoke night at Tower Inn, and some dine and donates. Also, the event the sororities put on were some of my best times. I remember we had a social with a sorority, and we had corn hole, giant Jenga, and a giant bonfire.

Any advice you could give to future students?

My advice to incoming students is you get whatever you put into this. So if you want to go ahead and sit in your residence hall and play video games all day, be my guest, but you’re not going to get a college experience out of that. Go out and find something to do. If you don't, you will never know what is out there. Along with that, if you never talk to people, you never find out anything. You will not find out about different classes, or getting closer to people. Live it up as much as you can, because after you graduate you’re gonna be stuck in your 9 to 5.