Paige E. Hocking, College of Science, Physiology
SIU Alumni Association 2019 Textbook Award Recipient
Southern Illinois University is preparing me for my future as a physician’s assistant, a career I’ve wanted to pursue for years. And while impacting me academically, SIU is also impacting me as a person.
This year I am a freshman, and over my first semester I have grown tremendously as a person. Being that this is my first time on my own away from my parents, I have learned a new type of responsibility. I am the one who now has to push myself every day to become a better person.
Seeing myself succeed is very rewarding because I am doing it by myself. Coming from a small town I knew everyone who I went to school with, but it’s very different on campus. I am learning how to reach out, make new friends and meet new people. Thanks to SIU I now feel more ready for my future beyond academics.
