Drake University

Date: Oct 29 2015
Major: Journalism (This Major's Salary over time)
I attended Drake in the early 90's. I transferred in after two years at a huge Big 10 school. I was a slightly non-tronditional student - a few years older with some work experience. Socially, I did not fit in at all. There were few non-traditional students at Drake and most of my school mates were still in a party mode. It was all about Greek life and the relays and parties surrounding it. Most of the kids I encountered were privileged white kids in some way. Little true diversity was at Drake. I hope that has changed. Few kids seemed to have to work to afford school either.

Academically however, I was extremely pleased. After being a number at a big State school, I had professors who knew my name, strengths and weaknesses. I was ready to crack down and learn, and although the Drake kids liked to party on the weekends, there was much more of a study work ethic at Drake then my Big 10 school. I really learned at Drake. I also found many opportunities for internships. Local businesses were involved on all levels of the school to incorporate real world experiences into the class room. Guest lecturers, tours, internships, and money to support contests, etc. a student didn't have to look far to gain employable skills. Problem was, at the time, I didn't see too many of the entitled students taking advantage. No problem! More opportunities for me! I had 4 separate paid and unpaid internships

Professors were teachers. Rare was the TA or foreign grad student. Profs invited us to their homes, other jobs, etc how cool was that? As an alumni in the Detroit area, there is little recognition of Drake around here. It seems to be more known in Chicago, Minneapolis and maybe Kansas City. When I entered the job market in Detroit, I did seem to have more knowledge and skills than my big 10 co-graduates in similar fields. I was hired right away, but I'm sure my internships and porfolio I had amassed from my internships helped with that.