Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Major: Business Information Technology with Concentration in Operations and Supply Chain Management
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: Southeast Asian Bisexual Female
Summary
I have a leadership position in the Virginia Tech Union (VTU). My time is pretty much occupied with that.
Background
Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: Southeast Asian
Sexual Orientation: Bisexual
High School Experience: Public school in Northern Virginia with a graduating class of about 300 students. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: Yes
Major: Business Information Technology with Concentration in Operations and Supply Chain Management
Minor: None
Extracurricular Activities: I have a leadership position in the Virginia Tech Union (VTU). My time is pretty much occupied with that.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience?
It had the biggest impact during my freshman year because it was where I found my niche of people. It also combined my interests in organizing and planning and music and entertainment. I have really enjoyed merging those two interests of mine. I’ve met a large number of people that I now call my friends through that organization. We hang out in the VTU and outside of the VTU. It’s also given me a lot of different perspectives on how I can utilize my skills in the music industry if I wanted to and opened me up to other organizations that we collaborate with.
Academic Experience
Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
On a regular week, I’ll usually have three to four homework assignments. I also have a lot of group work, so, on top of my individual homework assignments, I have checkpoints for each group project that I’m a part of. Checkpoints can happen every other week or sometimes less frequently depending on the class. When you get into the upper-division classes, most of the business work is group projects.
Is there anything you feel your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
When you get into the upper-division classes, a lot of the coursework can depend greatly on the quality of the professor. I’ve had it happen twice where the professor didn’t seem that prepared and then gave us unnecessarily difficult exams. In terms of well, the business school, Pamplin, has really good career resources.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
For my business-specific classes, I think some classes can be more competitive than others depending on who you have as a professor. There are some classes where there’s competition between groups because there are group projects, but then you also have to be collaborative while working in your group. I’ve only had a competitive atmosphere in a handful of my classes and it’s not competitive in that you’re trying to beat others for a certain grade, it’s just that the course was very difficult.
How accessible are your professors?
They’re pretty accessible. All of my professors are required to hold office hours so you can contact them during those. Sometimes meeting them during office hours can be difficult because they hold office hours when other classes happen. But I’ve been able to meet with them outside of their office hours by setting up a time to meet.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I chose my major because I know that I want to go into business and I wanted some form of technology, but I wasn’t too interested in that aspect of it. I knew that it would be good to have some type of technical background, so Business Information Systems is the middle ground for that. My concentration is something I really like because I like logistics, which is partially why I chose my major. If I were to go back and pick again, I think I would have liked to major in Industrial Systems Engineering because those classes are more hands-on and have a more operations perspective which I didn’t get too much from my major.
How was transitioning academically as a first-generation college student? Were there any systems in place that helped you adapt?
I found it pretty easy. There were some hiccups with the size of the classrooms which threw me off. I went from being in a very small high school class to being in a lecture hall with 600 other people. That was new, but I found the transition to be quite easy. In terms of adapting, there are peer mentoring programs and you could reach out to Cook Counseling Center.
Reasons to Attend
1) If you’re big into sports, come to Virginia Tech.
2) It’s a big school but has a small feel because it’s in a small town, so you get the best of both worlds.
3) If you really like hiking and being outdoors, Blacksburg is a good location for that.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) The tuition. [In-State tuition and fees for the 2019-2020 academic year were about $23,033.]
2) The lack of diversity.
3) Depending on what you want, the location can be a pro and a con.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: Cochrane Hall with one roommate and three other girls in the suite.
Sophomore & Junior: Off-campus apartment complex with two roommates
How was transitioning from your hometown in Northern Virginia to Blacksburg, VA in terms of location?
It was definitely different from where I live in Northern Virginia. Where I’m from is in the suburbs outside of a big city and Blacksburg has a few cities around it which make up for being in a rural area. In terms of entertainment, there isn’t a lot to do in Blacksburg so you have to make do with what you have. Getting over that was a big part of my freshman year. I had to figure out what to do with my time, so now I can go for a hike when I want to instead of going to the mall. There was some culture shock there, but it wasn’t too bad.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
The level of safety is probably the highest a college can set up for their students. We have the blue light system and also text alerts from the campus police. I’ve never felt unsafe at Tech. If there were an instance that would make me feel unsafe, I’m confident that the campus police would step in to mitigate that.
Social Opportunities
What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
I’m not 21, so the nightlife in Blacksburg is kind of sparse for me. I go to my friends’ apartment complexes and we’ll go downtown sometimes to hang out, but that’s where the bars are and that’s really where the nightlife is within the vicinity of campus. Otherwise, I think if I were in Greek life, the parties they throw would have been of interest but I also know that my friends who went to those outgrew them when they turned 21. If I’m going to a party, I’m going to a friend of a friend’s party at a house or a bigger apartment.
How happy are you with the weekend options at Virginia Tech? Is there anything you would change about them if you could?
I wish there were more concert venues around Virginia Tech. Music is a big part of my life and I would like it if there were shows and more exposure to mainstream artists. There are little live music events in Blacksburg, but we just don’t have the venues to have good concerts. We don’t have much else to do than go to the bars downtown on the weekends.
Campus Culture
How would you describe the overall social scene?
It’s hard to make friends if you’re not actively going out and trying to make friends. If you’re more of a homebody and introverted, it can be kind of difficult to make friends. I made a lot of friends through my first friend group and also being involved in the Virginia Tech Union. I also think a lot of the students at Virginia Tech are really open to making new friends. I don’t think there’s anyone who doesn’t want to make connections. You just have to go out of your way to find friends because it’s such a big school.
To what extent do you think people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
I feel like Tech tries to market itself as a super diverse place, but I don’t think they do anything to make their diverse students feel very welcome. So, while the school is diverse, but it is not very inclusive. For me at least, those are two very different things. In terms of sexual orientation, I don’t have a bunch of experience in that department. I’ve only met a handful of people who are not heterosexual. I don’t think there’s really a space for people of different sexualities to mingle on campus. If there is, I don’t know about it and it’s probably not well advertised. [See Collegiate Times article, “Virginia Tech isn’t home for everyone.” In Fall 2019, the student population was about 64% White, 10% Asian, 4% Black, 7% Hispanic, and 7% international.]
How would you describe the Asian community? How strong is it?
It’s pretty strong and there are a lot of international students. It’s very present, I just think it’s hard for some students since it’s a majority White school and a lot of students can’t identify with those students’ experiences.
How do you like the size of Virginia Tech in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How was transitioning to a school with [about 29,500 students?]?
From my freshman year to junior year, I think the size has gotten too big for the university to allocate its resources efficiently. From my first year to my sophomore year, things were okay, but then for my sophomore year to junior year, there was such a large influx of students that they had to rent hotels for students to stay in. That was unfortunate because the students didn’t get that campus feel and experience. [From Fall 2016 to Fall 2019, the undergraduate enrollment has grown by about 3,500 students, about a 14% increase. See Collegiate Times article, “Virginia Tech responds to over-enrollment, changes to campus” and NPR.org article, “Over-Enrolled, Virginia Tech Offers Some New Students Financial Incentives To Wait.”]
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
I don’t think there’s a big overlap there. The people who I know who participate in Greek life I met through working in the Virginia Tech Union. I’ve never met people in Greek life organically, it’s been through an organization.
Careers
Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
I haven’t reached out to it much directly. I’ve reached out through friends because I have friends who graduated because she has a lot of connections.
What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
They’re actually a really good tool. I’ve used them for resume review. You make an appointment and they will sit down with you and go through it. I was able to find out about internship search websites through them and how to connect with different people and alumni within a specific company on LinkedIn. I was also able to learn about how to negotiate a salary and do mock interviews.
Have you learned any computer languages or software that will be helpful to you professionally?
Pamplin is very Excel heavy, so you learn a lot of commands. You also learn Visual Basic Access (VBA). I just finished a semester of Java and finished a class where we learned AnyLogic.