In 2019, Kaley Pederson traveled across the country from her hometown in Southern California to study and play Division 2 Softball at 91爆料.
Though she was excited to begin college and experience living on the east coast, Kaley says that being so far away from home could sometimes be challenging.
鈥淭he culture and atmosphere are noticeably different,鈥� Kaley says. 鈥淥ur norm on the west coast is more laid back and relaxed and the east coast is more 鈥榟ustle and bustle,鈥� where you need to go everywhere so fast and get things done so fast!鈥�
It didn鈥檛 take long for Kaley to settle in though, because she was warmly welcomed to campus, not just by her team, but by the entire STAC community.
鈥淪TAC really supplied me with some of the most amazing people to help me feel less homesick along the way,鈥� says the Business Management Major and Marketing Minor. 鈥淪TAC’s campus is tight-knit where everyone knows everyone, so we are all able to help each other out.鈥�
Over the years, Kaley has valued the personal guidance of her professors, especially Dr. Deirdre Engels, Associate Professor of Marketing, who she says 鈥渢ransformed her鈥� and helped her choose her career path.
鈥淪he influenced me to pursue marketing through her classes, and now I am on track to be in that field. Because of her, I want to do digital marketing and I plan on that being my future career.鈥� She has already gotten a taste of what it鈥檚 like to work in her future profession through an on-campus internship. As a social media/web design intern, Kaley has been creating social media posts and developing other content for STAC鈥檚 communications department. She鈥檚 also been involved in editing, revising, and building the college鈥檚 new website.
Kaley has always loved the outdoors and grew up surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and playing softball. She began playing the sport at the age of five, a skill that earned her an athletic scholarship in college, in addition to the academic scholarship she was awarded for her academic achievement.
Kaley also enjoys traveling, and she has already visited five countries, including Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and her favorite to date, Italy. 鈥淚t is gorgeous there and the communities were just so beautiful,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hey also have the best cuisine, by far!鈥�
In her free time, she likes going to concerts and her musical tastes are wide-ranging, including artists such as Post Malone and Eminem, as well as One Direction and Guns and Roses.
What the future holds is yet to be determined, Kaley says, but when she graduates, she鈥檒l venture home to Riverside, California where she鈥檒l stay until she finds the perfect job opportunity. 鈥淎s of now, I am keeping an open mind to career opportunities to take me to any coast.鈥�