Emily Duck
Jefferson County, TN

Hi, I'm Emily Duck and I'm one! I'm one of Tennessee's best and I want you to be one, too.

I love Middle Tennessee State University so much that I am now pursuing my Master's degree here as well! I came to MTSU in 2006 after I graduated from Jefferson County High School to study Family & Consumer Sciences with a Secondary Education minor. After graduating with my Bachelor's degree this spring, I decided to come back and begin my Master's degree in Education as well.

My entire life, everyone has told me I need to be a teacher and when I began looking into a career path, I eventually discovered that this was exactly what I wanted to be. After taking a Family & Consumer Sciences class in high school, I knew this was the subject I wanted to teach. Very often I find people do not realize that Family & Consumer Sciences is the modern name for Home Economics. Once clarifying this, they understand very quickly that I want to help high school students learn how to not only manage a home, but gain various other life skills as well. Today, Family & Consumer Sciences is definitely not just for girls-it is beneficial to everyone, teaching students everything from how to balance a checkbook and how to sew on a button, to learning parenting skills for all child development levels and developing a nutritiously balanced meal to just mention a few. I love teaching Family & Consumer Sciences because students learn skills they will use all throughout life!

Once I decided my major and the fact that I knew I wanted a TN teaching license I began to look at colleges. MTSU was actually the first school I started to research and for some reason it always stood out to me. I visited Murfreesboro and MTSU's campus for the first time in September of my senior year and loved the environment of it all! It was a Blue Raider football game day and there were people swarming around Walnut Grove, tailgating and bursting with Blue Raider pride! I loved it! My final choice came down to MTSU or Carson-Newman College. I had to decide between staying in my comfort zone at Carson-Newman and going to a school where I knew many of the professors and the campus like the back of my hand, or venturing out to a brand new city and starting completely over. My parents both encouraged me to make the big move three hours away to MTSU, telling me "You need to have your own experiences. You need to learn and grow."; That was the best thing they ever said to me and eventually help lead me to my final decision to come MTSU!

After making my final decision, I came to MTSU for a visit and was able to meet with my academic advisor, Dr Sandra Poirier. I had no idea what an impact this meeting would make on my next four years. She took the time out of her day to sit down with my mom and me and explain everything about my major and department. It meant so much to me to have her sit down and meet with us-any worries I ever had about just being a number and not an actual student to professors were calmed this day. I have since learned that Dr Poirier is the rule rather than the exception to the faculty at MTSU. They have all been willing to meet with me outside of class to provide additional instruction or just guidance for my future. They think it is important to get to know us as more than just students - they want to know more about us as people and as professionals. The professors on campus truly want to see students succeed and will go out of their way to help in any way they can!

I am from a really small town, so moving to Murfreesboro was definitely a change. I expected to be really overwhelmed by the size and scope of campus and the town. The campus size in general is fairly large because it spans such a large area, but once you learn your way around, it seems to shrink. After being around it every day for four years, I could walk around it backwards and did several times when giving campus tours to prospective students!

One thing that really helps to shrink campus is getting involved in student organizations. When I arrived on campus my first fall, I immediately took part in sorority recruitment which turned out to be the best thing I could have ever done! My sorority, Alpha Omicron Pi, has been the biggest blessing of my collegiate career. It not only gave me automatic sisters in AOII, but also many friendships from other organizations as well. I loved being involved in leadership positions in AOII, serving as House Chair, Vice President of Education and Vice President of Administration, giving back to my organization for all it has given to me. The best thing about AOII is that I have it with me for life-I am now excited about carrying over my collegiate involvement to being an active AOII alumna this fall and seeing how I can support my chapter from an entirely new perspective.

MTSU is constantly seeking to improve its status and within the next few years I look forward to seeing where the university progresses. With brand new buildings coming, the reorganization of the colleges and programs, and new people and fresh ideas constantly coming on board, MTSU is in a great position to truly thrive and I am excited to see where this leads!

The last four years I've been at MTSU have been absolutely amazing and I anticipate many more great experiences as I continue into Graduate School. I am so glad I chose MTSU for my college education. I have learned more than I thought possible and had a college career truly out of the ordinary. I met friends I will have for life and I have set a path for myself that I believe will lead me exactly where I want to go.

Don't just take my word for it. Come see for yourself what MTSU has to offer. Come be One of Tennessee's Best at Middle Tennessee State University. You'll be glad you did. I know I am!