My Starting Point – Mayra Ruiz Gallegos – First Day

Hey guys, It’s Mayra again, sharing some of my insights and experiences as I work through the Pharmacy Technology program at the Mesa campus. In my last blog I talked a little about me, why I went back to school and the enrollment process – check it out if you missed it! Today I want to share how orientation and my first day of class went. It’s a 10 month program; I should finish in August, so this really is my starting point.

Make the Most of Orientation

When you go into orientation, which was the week before classes started, they’ll take pictures for your ID, you’ll get your scrubs and they introduce you to people…admin stuff like that. Make sure to go prepared with questions, especially if there were things you forgot to ask during the enrollment process.

You’re going to be with a bunch of people on different programs, not specifically in your field, because the first six week course is a general education class. When they break you into your program groups, try to make friends with people on the same schedule as you, that way you can buddy up and study together. I’ve made a friend who’s going into the Pharmacy Technology program too. It helps to have someone who can motivate you, you can motivate each other.

A lot of people don’t have anyone at home to motivate them or don’t have that outside support system, which is why developing your own Carrington support system, including teachers, classmates, and advisors can really help. I’m lucky that I do have friends, family, my parents, my boyfriend all there to motivate me to do better, to continue following my dreams and achieve my goals; they’re definitely my outside support system, but I want to build an inside one too.

First Day Of School

It was only like a month from my enrollment interview to my first day of class on October 21. That first day was a little scary to be honest, because I really didn’t know how it would go. But then I met my Instructor and Program Director, they wanted to get to know me and understand who I am. They wanted to learn about me, so they could guide me and help me get to where I need to go. It’s very personable and very one-on-one, it’s really more one-on-one than I thought it was going to be.

That first day was a bit like the first day of high school; you know, everybody was looking around scoping out who we might talk to or become friends with. But the teacher made it very comfortable for everybody. There’s a great variety of ages and different people at school; I’m 25 and I thought it was going to be a bunch of young kids, but you’ll be surprised that there are some older people here. And they’re great. A lot of them have different experiences of different courses and different things in life. The people here are very friendly so you can just always ask somebody for help – student or teachers.

Be Prepared For A Tiring Day

Definitely go well rested that first day because you’ll get a lot of information thrown at you. And come prepared to carry home a lot of books! Don’t be afraid to ask questions that you didn’t get answered during the enrollment process or orientation – that first day is definitely the day to ask those questions.

At first it was a little scary when they told us we had to take math tests and write an essay that first week; but people in class help you. You can schedule extra time with teachers; and they recommend that you buddy-up with a classmate to study with too.

Thanks for reading! I hope these blogs are helping some of you! Stay tuned – Next time I’ll talk about settling in that first week, my schedule and how the school helps you organize your time.