Michaela Talksabout

Anacortes, Washington
Class of 2019
B.S. Public Relations

 

“This small campus community has helped me not just achieve my academic goals, but find my voice.”

 

MichaelaWhy did you choose MSUB?

The last two-and-a-half years were not my first time attending MSUB. I first attended back in 2011 because I started having children in Billings and I figured it was the obvious choice. When I came back, though, it was for different reasons. This time I chose MSUB because when I walked into Disability Support Services and felt defeated, the staff everywhere I went sincerely cared about my story. They were a family that I knew I needed to be a part of as a newly single parent of three.

What do you like about MSUB?

When you have to be part of assistance programs you can sometimes feel like “just” a number. It can feel like I’m just a Native American woman or a single parent with a learning disability and that’s all there is to me. When I walk into a class at MSUB, all that goes away. I’m a student and the rewards are endless. This small campus community has helped me not just achieve my academic goals, but find my voice.

What are your plans after graduate?

I hope to get a job working for the Department of Interior, specifically the Bureau of Indian Affairs after I graduate. I want to use my degree in Public Relations to represent an organization that has been part of my life since I was a little girl. I always knew I wanted to help my Native American people and young mothers like myself, but didn’t know how to until now.

What advice would you give to prospective students of MSUB?

Take advantage of the small classes and build relationships with the staff and fellow students. You will not regret it. Allow them to connect in the classroom with you. I’ve walked out of classes in happy tears, because the tools they have given me are not just for the workplace, but for my life.

See also: MSU Billings Native American Achievement Center