“Dream big,” “shoot for the stars” and “the sky is the limit” are some of the sayings that come to mind when describing Paula Petit-frere. She is far from the college student stereotype – with her packed schedule and her challenging goals, there simply isn’t any room for procrastination. Paula is one of those people who have the rare gift to handle very many goals and the ability to multitask enough to reach them: as a senior, she’s juggling school, work and fun effortlessly.
If someone were to write a book about her life, the title would be “Never Say Never” because she is open to anything, willing to have big dreams and take chances no matter what the odds are. She, like many other college students, wasn’t handed a full ride or an answer sheet to life: her success to this day has come from her complete dedication to her goals and from believing in herself.
Paula was born and raised in Miami, but her family is from Haiti. She moved to Tampa three years ago to attend the University of South Florida and this is her third year at USF. She is double majoring in psychology and criminology, with a minor in applied behavior analysis, and hopes to be a psychologist and work for the FBI as a member of a behavior analysis unit. Think Criminal Minds, but with a twist: Paula is far from the nerdy girls that work at the labs in criminal shows.
When asked about what she does for fun, she humbly replies, “I don’t do much but school and work,” but when she’s not out trying to understand the human mind, she’s off shopping or cooking amazing meals at home. She absolutely loves burgers and fries – they are her go-to comfort food and always calm her down. She’s also passionate about anything and everything fashion-related, and she really enjoys her job at The Limited. If she were given a million dollars today, she would pay off school and shop all day!
She hopes to one day be able to travel all around the world, and explore as many countries and get to know as many cultures as possible, but if she had to choose one city she’d love to visit the most, Paris is at the top of her list. (Possibly because under her FBI agent façade there is a hopeless romantic. Or maybe not.) Either way, it’s hard not to fall in love with Paris.
She is a bright girl with a great future ahead of her, and very friendly and outgoing. However, to stay on Paula’s good side, here’s one easy to follow tip: don’t be late. People who are late are Paula’s biggest pet peeve. If she were a character in a TV show, she would be Raven from That’s So Raven, because she can see the future. Of course, with the FBI training she’s soon to acquire, she won’t need psychic abilities at all to thrive in life.