Graduating to the Next Level

Amanda Gaeta did just about everything a UA student could do and more. This is her story

“Take hold of every opportunity there is to learn.”

No, those aren’t the sage words of a commencement speaker; those are the words of a 2011 graduate.

Say hi to Amanda Gaeta.

“Full-time student” is a phrase that gets thrown around a lot.  Then there are those students for whom “full time” doesn’t even begin to cover it.  That’s Amanda. 

“When looking back at my college experience, I truly loved everything. Yes, this means even the semester where I had three or four hours of sleep per night, was stressed out all the time, and lived at a coffee shop.”

While enthusiasm and caffeine will take you far in college, there’s no replacement for learning to truly make the most of the entire college experience – both inside the classroom and out.  Amanda managed to do just that.  In between bonding with her friends from the dorms and class, this New York Yankee fanatic conducted research for Family and Consumer Sciences, got involved in peer mentoring, was an on-air host and producer for a local FM station, hosted her own on-campus radio show and worked for the Student Affairs marketing team.  Phew.

“I think my college experience had just the right amount of insanity,” she says.  Amanda emphasizes that keeping herself busy is the thing that allowed her to bond with so many different people. “The one thing that stands out about my time at the UA is the number of amazing people I have met. This comes through class, clubs, and the community at large… I realized I could make time for things I truly wanted like maintaining the close friendships I had.”

Amanda is thankful for the opportunities to succeed that UA provided.  For instance during her time at Eller, she worked with Chevrolet to conceive and implement a marketing campaign for students.   She also credits her classes for preparing her for the real world, “Eller really did treat me well,” she adds.

So after four breathless years, you would think that this honor student might take some time to sit back, admire the fruits of her labor and reflect on post-grad life, right?  Oh no.  Not Amanda.  She starts her first post-grad job on the Monday following commencement.

Did we mention she likes to stay busy?