Hometown: Colts Neck, NJ
Hobbies: Reading, painting and watching a good action adventure movie
Favorite place:Â The beach
Everyone remembers their freshman orientation; their first experience on the campus in which they will spend the next four years. Sophomore Talya Wells knows all this first hand. She is not only an orientation leader, but an extremely involved student on the AU Campus. She is an AU Ambassador, a peer mentor, an orientation leader and on the executive boards of a hand full of organizations. On top of all this, she is pursuing a degree in marketing, considering a minor in graphic design or business management, and is quite the fashionista. With so much to offer, Talya is broadening her horizons in being involved, and through these experiences she has become a pure inspiration.
So I know you are involved in so much on campus, tell me a little about some groups you work with.
I am an AU Ambassador, the Art Director of the Kogod Marketing Association (KMA), part of the 1955 Club, a peer mentor, orientation leader, a participant in club field hockey, and work with the Early Identification program. I also am a part of American University Homelessness Awareness (AUHA). The AUHA is a new student organization focused on serving the homeless community in Washington, DC through service learning and educating the student community on how they can help.
I chose to work with each of these groups to be able to exercise each of the things I am the most passionate about, and also because you never know what doors might be opened by taking that first step. I saw whatever club or organization seemed interesting and just signed up! That’s the biggest piece of advice I can give to anyone who wants to get more involved and meet new people; just sign up for everything, take the initiative, and go for it.
We can recall our first experiences here on campus, and most of them have to do with orientation. What made you choose to be an orientation leader, and how was that experience?
When I thought about being an OL, I had a flashback to myself as a freshman. I was unsure of what I wanted to do and worried about making the wrong choice in deciding where to go to college. After my orientation here at AU, I had all the confidence in the world that I made the right decision that AU was the place for me. I felt that I needed to be a part of that feeling for incoming freshmen and make myself easily accessible to them. It was awesome being an OL in the sense that I got to see the other side of things; as a freshman you never realize how many questions you ask until you are that leader! Being in that position forced me to push myself out of my comfort zone. Now, I am outgoing in every aspect and more confident in everything I do.
What do you wish to accomplish these next two years at AU?
The biggest thing I want to do is travel abroad. I’m not really sure where yet, but either London, South Africa, or Australia. I want to be able to study business outside of the US and be able to get to know a different culture. Other than going abroad, I see myself continuing to pursue a degree in marketing and to continue hunting for leadership positions, even off campus!