Learning Commons Spotlight: Abbey Vickers

The Learning Commons gives a monthly award that features students we work with who have shown greatness in academic excellence, social leadership, peer development, and/or community engagement. These students are nominated and selected by the Learning Commons team. They are interviewed and receive a gift card to the Kohawk Shop! Stay tuned to learn more about this month's recipient: Abbey Vickers!

Success Story

"I was from a really small town where we didn't have a good education, and my senior class size was about 30," Abbey ('23) shared. They always did well in school back home on Catalina Island, California, and have enjoyed learning since they were young. But after arriving at Coe College, Abbey struggled right away. Like many first year students, they never learned study strategies, which was detrimental to their grades. 

Unexpectedly, COVID hit not too far into their time at Coe, which led to Abbey going back home and doing schoolwork online. Abbey struggled during quarantine, leading to failing classes, being on academic probation, and being behind in credits. They had every reason to quit and drop out, but Abbey was determined to bounce back, which they did by working hard and taking extra classes. "My academic coaches, professors, and Learning Commons staff helped me a lot during this time," Abbey explained. 

In fact, Abbey's College Foundations instructor Michelle McIllece found their perseverance an invaluable resource for the class. Michelle noted that "they shared a lot of great stories with the College Foundations class, which was comprised mostly of students quite a bit younger than them." She continued, "Abbey has stuck with it and now as a senior has landed in a place of confidence, love of learning, and determination to stick with things even when they are hard."

Abbey's brother is one of their biggest inspirations in academics and life in general. He was the first in the family to graduate and helps Abbey stay determined to go on and graduate as well. They will do so this May.

Interests

When Abbey when first came to college their major was going to be biology, but they soon felt they didn't have the requisite skills to succeed. Inspired by a sociology class they enjoyed, Abbey changed their major to sociology. Now, Abbey works for a non-profit organization called Trees Forever, which combats invasive species and replants trees to help the community. 

Advice

Abbey said, "Let go of the idea of the traditional academic/college experience. College is hard and not everyone is prepared." They emphasized that it’s okay to take more time to reach the finish line than the "traditional" 4 years, it’s okay to have to take extra classes, and it’s okay to ask for help. "You should never be ashamed of that. Everyone has their own trajectory and their own college experience." 

Abbey recommends not comparing your experience to that of those around you and that "as long as you stick to it, you’ll get through it. The bumps along the way don’t matter as long as you believe you are making the right decisions for yourself."