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My Personal Experience at Francis Marion University

5/21/2017

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I attended Francis Marion University from fall 2013 to spring 2017. FMU was not at the top of my list compared to others like NC State or The Citadel. However, I wanted to major in Health Physics, and FMU was the only school in the state that offered a degree. This was one reason I chose to attend Francis Marion. In addition to that, my uncle graduated from FMU with a Math degree and he has a track record for being very intelligent.
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Freshman Year
During my first year, I was declared as a Health Physics and Math double major. I was taking two science courses, a math course, and an English course. Before arriving to school, my goal was to be as involved as I possibly could be. I joined the FMU Math Club and was voted as Vice-President. I, also, joined the FMU Student Diplomats, in which I served as the Treasurer, and was elected to be a SGA Senator.

At the end of the fall semester, I had a change of heart about my career path and decided to become a Math and Finance double major. Around this same time, I joined the Track and Field team as a sprinter and thrower. To add, I was accepted to be a Math Lab Tutor for the Department of Mathematics. This meant I would be in a classroom setting, and tutor student in self-paced math courses. As you may see this seems like a lot things going on during my first year, and it most definitely was. I would not advise any first-year undergrad student to do as much as I did during my freshman year. However, if you do you will learn how to become an overall well-rounded student much faster
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Now, with all this going on, you would think I would spend my summer relaxing or at least vacationing. Sadly, this did not happen, because I decided to take four summer courses.
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The summer semesters at FMU are great, especially since there are only a fraction of the normal student population on campus. This gave me the chance to learn about the campus layout more in depth and I was able to get a lot of studying done.

My first year was a successful one in finding myself as a student. I ended up changing my major three times, since I dropped Finance as my second major at the end of the spring semester. My actions during my first year also resulted in me becoming a very involved student, adding skills and employment to my resume, obtaining nearly fifty credit hours, and much more

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Sophomore Year
Next, my second year was truly a blur, now that I think about it. During the fall semester, I took the lowest number of courses I could, while working in the Math Lab as much as I could. I, also, was accepted to be a Resident Assistant for FMU’s Housing and Resident Life. With this job, I conducted social programming, arranging activities for my hall of around 40 students. I enforced university and housing regulations to ensure a safe living environment. On top of that, I managed physical and emotional crises, by referring students to appropriate resources.​
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I advise anyone who has good time management and who is willing to learn valuable skills to apply for this job if you attend Francis Marion. This job taught me so much that I feel indebted to the faculty of the Housing and Resident Life.
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Example of why I love mathematics.

That spring semester was by far my hardest and stressful semester. I was taking some difficult classes, but only Real Analysis had my full attention. This is because I felt as if I knew without a doubt I would be getting my PhD in Math, which meant I needed an A in this course. Thankfully, with hard work and dedication, I was able to obtain my desired grade.
I started attending conferences during my second year, which helped pave way for my research interest that will be discussed later in this post. I, also, attended multiple math jeopardy contest. These contests where great indicators on how fast I was at solving difficult problems, which essentially helped my problem-solving skills. 

So, as you can see, my sophomore year was not as overloaded as my freshman year. It was, however, more academically difficult. From what happened that year, I learned valuable things from working as a Resident Assistant, and figuring out how much I can handle without having diminishing quality.
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Junior Year
My junior year was by far the busiest, in terms of academics. I was juggling the idea of adding Economics as my second major or having it as a minor. I was, also, accepted to be a Tutor in the Center for Academic Success and Advising, in which I tutored subjects like math, economics, business, and much more. On top of that, I began doing research and presenting at conferences. Some of the areas I did research in this year was math history, sports analytics, combinatorics and design theory. You can click here to see a description of them. I ended up presenting at many different conferences either oral or poster, and winning an award for best poster presentation. Luckily, FMU funded some of these trips so I could present my research.
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Induction Ceremony for Kappa Mu Epsilon
Outside of research, I was inducted into Kappa Mu Epsilon (National Mathematics Honor Society) and Omicron Delta Kappa (National Leadership Honor Society) honor societies, and became a National Alliance Doctoral Scholar. I was voted President for both the student chapter of Kappa Mu Epsilon, and the FMU Math Club. In addition, I was fortunate enough to also be accepted to a Math REU to take place at Ohio Wesleyan University, during the summer of 2016.
Senior Year
My senior year was essentially the highlight of my undergraduate life. I was taking nothing but economic courses, since I decided to complete the double major in Math and Economics. I started to do economic research beginning in the fall semester, which l was able to gain exposure to different areas of economics. My projects were in regulatory economics, industrial organization, and sports economics.
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Receiving Award for Top Score on Economic Comprehensive Exam

​As the semester continued, I was submitting applications for Economic PhD and MS Programs, and Math PhD Programs. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend any off-campus conferences this final year. During the spring semester, I earned the highest score on the Economic Comprehensive Exam and was awarded for this accomplishment.
My overall experience at Francis Marion University was great. I feel as if I gained a quality education, and was not spoon fed throughout the years. Yes, FMU is not the most prestige university, nor is it even talked about. This is what sets FMU apart from other schools. At bigger universities, you are one of many, but at FMU you are one of few, relatively speaking. You can actually make a name for yourself at Francis Marion by going out and creating your own opportunities, as I did. If I went to a bigger well-known school I would not have to create those opportunities for me since they will be at my disposal.  

So, if you are considering FMU, I say go for it if you want to make a path for yourself. 
1 Comment
Mary Book
6/23/2017 11:53:09 pm

What an educational journey you have been on! You will do fantastic in your continued journey.

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    Hello, as you may know my name is Kendrick Hardison. This blog will be used to share my experiences, teach things I may have learned, advise others, and much more. If you have any questions or if you would like for me to write a post on something you are interested in, click here to get to my contact page.

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