by: Cle`anna Moore As the end of the semester approaches for future alumni, decisions, goals, and plans are being set into place for senior 16 graduates. As we arrive in April seniors are not only anxious about  finishing strong academically, but also anxious to get out in the real work world.

Senior Taylor Stewart, has set her goals for after commencement day in May. Stewart shared her acceptance into the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on the Goals Board in the Student Success Center. Taylor`s current major is Psychology. Her plans with her Bachelors of Science in Psychology is to become an industrial organization psychologist.

“What I wanna do is Industrial/Organization psychology, what they do is study human behavior in the work place,” Stewart said. Knowing what she wanted to do with her career she knew that stopping at undergrad with a bachelors degree was not enough.

“Honestly it`s not too much I can do with my bachelors in psychology, besides being a social worker. I never wanted to do social work, so I already knew when I  came into undergrad, I was gonna have to go to grad school” Stewart stated. Knowing exactly what she wanted to do with her life, she further her goals and created a plan.

Taylor applied for several colleges for grad school, which included Saint Louis University (SLU), University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL), Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC), and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (U of I). Stewart was accepted into SIUC. and U of I. With U of I being her least favorite school, they were the first to contact her, and she was immediately accepted.

“I was actually mad about it, you would think I would think I would be happy”  Taylor said, as she laughed a little.

“I started reading into their Masters in Human Resources program and Industrial Relations more and I was like OK, well it sounded pretty cool. I was upset because I specifically wanted to go to a school with IO psychology.”

After being accepted into Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Taylor did her research and found out more about their Masters in Human Resources program. During research she found that their IO program offered great opportunities for what she wanted to do as well as great networks. U of I also offered to pay for Stewart’s tuition. Making the wise decision Taylor Stewart will be entering grad school after May commencement following her goals and dreams.

Wanting to stay close to home after graduating, Stewart had her heart and goals set to attend SLU or UMSL back home in St. Louis, Missouri. “I was really trying to go back home after graduating, that was my main goal” Stewart stated.

Life never goes as planned, regardless of what plans we make for ourselves, but to at least have goals, plans or an idea is a start to anything.

Taylor Stewart will be entering her masters program at U of I in August, after graduating from Quincy University with her B.S in Psychology. She will be completing her grad school experience at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign by December of 2017, most likely going into her future career field.

Congratulations Taylor Stewart!