As we are halfway through the last term of the 2023-2024 school year, I had the pleasure of talking to Nygma Moses, a senior here at Eastern Oregon University. Before he graduates this spring, he was able to share with us how his college experience has been throughout the past few years.
How did you hear about EOU and what led you to come here?
“I heard it through Genesis; she was recruiting Islander students all over. I think it started with junior year in high school. She visited Mindszenty, that was the high school I was in, and then also senior year, and even when I went to community college back home. I think twice I met the whole recruitment staff, and yeah, that’s how I heard about Eastern Oregon… but the main reason why I chose here is my parents; they told me, “Your brother already went there, most likely will be a safe place, you should go there as well.” At first I was supposed to go to a school on the East Coast, not the West, but here I am.”
How was your experience with transitioning between Palau Community College into Eastern Oregon University?
“I think being in a community college really helped me adapt well to a more college setting, just because, you know, high school is very different, with it being a teacher telling you “do this, do that,” while here its students make their own schedules and we see the best of it and the worst of it: how your classmates don’t show up to class, or you make schedules that conflict with another class… so I’d say going to Palau Community College helped me be more confident in my decisions. I feel like it made my transition more easier.”
What is your major/minor? Where do you plan to use it after graduation?
“I am in the communication department. Recently I have been dealing with a lot of media tech, so, like, programming, photography, videography, video editing, audio editing, photo editing… so, I’ve been doing a lot of those most recently, so I think that would count as my minor, but more of a specific section of communication… and I have no idea what I would want to pursue after whatever pops up.”
What are your roles here as a student at Eastern Oregon University?
“I have 4 jobs, or, I have 3 jobs right now, but I had 4 jobs throughout my time here at Eastern Oregon University. I tried to get a job out of campus, but no reply… so my first job that I got here was through Mieka and that was my job as a student worker at the Multicultural Center, and through that I was able to meet other staff and thankfully, meeting Cori, I got my lead mentor position in the summer bridge program, and that was around my second year. Throughout that summer, I applied for a custodian position, where I was helping custodians in the school help prep the campus and the dorms for this current year that we are in. And that leaves out The Voice, which I believe this one is for this interview for The Voice. I am a web technician that helps with website maintenance and if anything my co-workers ask to help display or change anything that’s not being seen right with the website, that’s my go-to role… and those are all my jobs and roles.”
Over these past years, what has been the biggest challenge that you have overcome?
“I don’t think I have had any big challenges. I mean, of course there’s going to be difficult things, like we are broke college students and we can’t fully support ourselves with what we want. I don’t see that as a challenge; I feel like everyone has to deal with it.”
If you could change one thing about your college experience, what would it be and why?
“Honestly, I don’t think I would have done it any other way. I feel like I have done everything to the best of my ability and I don’t think I have done any major, excuse my language, but any major f— ups. I’ve been doing things as I thought was the best choice of action. I mean, I’m doing well with my studies, I haven’t been kicked out of anything, like I haven’t been fired from any of my jobs… I’m not doing extremely great, but I’m not doing bad.”
What advice would you give your past self before attending college?
“College is easier than you expect. Coming out of high school, I was thinking, “oh my god college is going to be like the worst and I’m going to have to deal with so much shit,” but no. So far I felt like high school was harder for me. I don’t think academically, though, because of course when you go to college, you get more specific with what you’re interested in and there’s a lot of things to keep account for… but maybe I already developed a more mature mind. I don’t think I’m quite mature, I’m quite childish sometimes, but with all the hormones going through highschool, and with just finding yourself… when I came to college, I knew who I wanted to be and there wasn’t much straying me away from doing what I want and doing what I need.”
What are some goals you have for your future?
“It’s a goal but also a concern, because I have no idea what I’m going to be doing after college, because I’ve been planning, “okay get through education, get my degree, okay… now what?” So, I guess my main goal is to find a job, preferably something I want to enjoy. I wouldn’t want to be doing something that I’d hate doing for a 9-to-5 job and that’s my main goal and my main concern.”
As you are crossing the finish line, what are some of your proudest moments?
“As of now, I do not have a most proud moment because I’ve been doing things as easy-going as possible. That’s kind of the reason why I feel like I’m not as stressed, because I put myself on a path that I know I can do, but it really depends on how all of this is gonna go down. So one event I am a part of right now is Island Magic. I know for sure that I can’t dance for s— and, hopefully, if the entire thing goes down well, it’s something that I did with my friends, something that I can look back on. There could be that if I end up doing bad then I’m not going to look forward to that. It’s not a proud moment. I’m also working on a short film for one of my classes right now. It’s something that I thought was very interesting and I enjoy the process. If that ends up becoming an actual product that I am happy that I did, then that would be something cool to say, like, “hey I did a movie,” and yeah, that would be my proudest moment.”
Finally, what is one message you want to leave here?
“Don’t take life too seriously. If you micromanage everything, you’re going to be too stressed to enjoy the little things.”
