After a college reset, SVHS grad on dynamic path

When Sonoma Valley High School (SVHS) alumna Natalie Smith graduated in 2016, her dream of a degree in Engineering seemed set. She had been accepted to Cal Poly Pomona and her path seemed clear. Her 4.0 GPA and amazing academic resume of activities during high school were exemplary and seemed to be the “ticket” that every school counselor and education expert encourages high school students to aim for when planning for college admission.

But Smith’s path took a surprisingly different turn. What should have been a traditional summer of shopping and getting ready to move into a dorm, became the start of a journey that took her to three schools that were never part of her plan.

She credits her high school experiences with getting her through a roller coaster of changes that she never expected. “My high school teachers were a base that I could go back to when I seemed to hit new roadblocks. They were there for me to call on and always provided the encouragement I needed,” she says with gratitude.

“And my parents were my anchors,” said Smith. “They supported me and welcomed me home when I decided to enroll at Santa Rosa Junior College and take a year to hit the reset button and really work out what my next steps would be in my schooling.”

Being notified that there was no housing for her at Cal Poly Pomona (more Freshman accepted that the school had housing for), about a month before orientation, made scouting apartments seem like the next best option.

“I decided not to go to Cal Poly Pomona. It just wasn’t working out the way I wanted, so I took a chance that St. Mary’s might be an option and called. It was somewhat close to home, a beautiful campus and it had a good Engineering program. I applied August 1st, heard that I was accepted on August 20th, committed on a Sunday night and had three days to pack and move into the dorm. I was fortunate that I was given an early-move in for orientation,” she recalls.

During her year at St. Mary’s, Smith realized that Engineering was not exactly what she thought it would be. “I needed a more scientific school and then when the financial aid I was expecting did not work out, I realized that St. Mary’s was not the school I needed.”

“Moving back home to attend Santa Rosa Junior College was one of the best decisions I made. The professors are incredible, I was able to the pay off the entire year on my own and I felt a new sense of responsibility,” said Smith.“SRJC’s small classes were a huge plus. I was able to make lots of contacts, got advice on grad programs and one of my professors became my mentor.”

After applying to seven schools, Natalie was accepted into six of them. She is now attending UC Santa Cruz as an Earth Science major and feels that is is where she belongs.

“I have felt very welcome at UCSC from the beginning, “she says. “Meeting other transfer students in my major has been extremely helpful in giving me the basics of what I need to know.”

Looking back on the last three years, Smith offers sound advice to students in high school, and college students who still feel unsettled with their academic or school choices.

“Everything happens for a reason and certain things are just meant to be,” she explains. “Being forced to make a new plan makes you stronger, and once you get to where you need to be, you feel rewarded for not giving up.”

Changing majors also had its own challenges and rewards for Smith. “I learned that taking classes outside of what you think you want to major in opens up new opportunities and shows you what may be a better fit for what you want to pursue as a career,” she advises.

Not wishing that anyone go through the upheaval she experienced, Smith does offer positive thoughts to young adults who may have their clear path to a degree take an unexpected turn.

“There is no straight path and life is never as simple as we plan. But we all have it inside us to get through this journey to finding what we want to pursue as a career,” she says.

— Leslie Nicholson