Vanessa Hewitt

Outstanding GEW

Student of the Month

May - September 2019

GEW Student Highlight: Vanessa Hewitt

Interviewed by Syndee Wood

Vanessa Hewitt joined me for a delightful discussion about GEW, movies, and advice for incoming college students.

SW: So who is Vanessa Hewitt? What do we need to know about you?

VH: So basically I come from divorced parents. I’m always lived in separate home and commuted. I’ve commuted for ten years. Growing up with divorced parents was good for me because I’ve attained different skills from each. My dad taught me about patience and how to be loyal, and he’s who I got my send of humor from. He was more the nurturer and he taught me about patience and how to be loyal. He’s just a really a great dad. And then my mom is the one who is the one I'm close with friend wise and she taught me responsibilities. Because of her I can't procrastinate because she taught me like never put things off. Stick to it and get it done and to just always stay on top of my priorities. Um, so yeah they both they both are very different and so they just allowed me to become my own and I just have characteristics from both of them and so that's really who I am.

SW: And what do you like to do when you're not working on classes?

VH: When I'm not at school, I'm normally with my boyfriend or a majority the time I’m at the movies. Honestly. I have one of those memberships that I can get three movies a week for like twenty bucks. . .

SW: Okay, hold on. Tell me about that.

VH: The AMC theaters. It's called AMC Stubs List and so it's $20 a month and you get three movies a week. . .

SW: Like, you get to go sit in a theater three times a week?

VH: Yeah.

SW: For $20 a month?

VH: Yeah.

SW: That's an incredible deal.

VH: Exactly. Like why doesn’t everyone have this? But it’s only strictly towards the AMC. So I'm pretty much always at the movies.

SW: That's amazing. Well cool. So is that one of your passions? Do you, like, love movies? Or is it just a way to pass the time?

VH: I love movies. I'm very, like, I could talk about movies all day. It’s not something I plan on doing, but that's just one of my hobbies. I just love talking about films. Comedy. Horror. Chick flicks. I just love the way movies. My boyfriend usually goes with me to them so that's a lot of our date nights.

SW: Awesome. I’ve watched two chick flicks this week. They're a lot of fun. That's really great. An unexpected answer. So I tell me about your decision to come to Cal State San Marcos. What brings you here?

VH: I've actually been in the San Marcos district since first grade. I went to Knob Hill, Woodland Park Middle School, and then Mission Hills, right down the street. So I've always commuted since I was in 1st grade. I started off here in first grade and in second, we moved to San Diego. Then we transitioned and we moved to Temecula. Even through all the moving, my sister and I never wanted to leave this district because we had developed friendships. So my parents just made it work. They work down here too, so our lives are all down here, but I live in Temecula.

SW: What is your major and why?

VH: I am a human development major. I really just like the whole aspect of it, how it all revolves around helping people and making connections and socializing. I'm not positive what I want to do with it yet, because there are so many ways you can take it. I'd like to explore my options. I just know that the aspect of it is really cool to me and I love helping people. I love talking to others and being involved and so it's just something that made sense to me. When people do ask me what I want to do, at the top of my head, for now, that I think about is a high school guidance counselor. Mostly because I didn't have the greatest high school experience. I think it would work out well for me to be in that position because I could help out children who went through stuff that I can relate. I could help them through stuff. I just think it works.

SW: That's awesome. So you say you don't know what you want to do but then you have a pretty good idea, but you have three more years . . .

VH: Yeah. . .

SW: . . .and your classes will take you in places where you will be able to figure out what you want to do that’s really great. That’s what’s great about college, that you come in with a plan and college helps you figure that out. . .

VH: Right.

SW: . . .and spits you out on the other side with knowledge and some experience.

VH: Right!

SW: Tell me about GEW. So Professor Kessler's impressed with your work ethic. You should know that. So how do you feel about GEW class? How do you feel about writing?

VH: In high school I didn't write a lot, but once I started college, now there are papers everywhere that I have to do. GEW helped me finally be the writer that I am, because before, when I was younger, I was like, “Oh, a paper. Oh, whatever.” But now I’m like, "It’s important to write good papers," and I’m like, "How good of a writer am I?" So it's really allowed me to just branch out and figure out my flow and what I like to write about and my structure. This class is really helpful in developing more skills for me. I do other papers in other classes so I use the skills I get from this class and the tips that she teaches us about writing, and I use that in my other classes.

SW: Yeah. That was going to be my next question, how GEW helps you and other classes. So you take those tips that professor Kessler teaches you now and you say here's how I can use this in this class. So are you saying that your writing is improving and other causes as well?

VH: Yeah, totally. I've been getting pretty good grades on my essays and so it's just reflecting and so it’s showing me like, okay, I can do this. I can write. So, yeah, it's been pretty helpful on my papers.

SW: Awesome, I love hearing that. So, I like to ask my students at the end of the semester, what advice would you give yourself at the beginning of the semester? At the beginning of college? So what do you think? If you could go back to Week One of either this semester, or even the beginning of the year, what would you tell yourself?

VH: What I do now, what I wish I could do in the beginning, is I develop really close relationships with my professors. I actually email them more than even text my friends. I'm emailing my professors constantly for clarification and making sure I'm doing stuff right. Because like I said, I can't procrastinate, so I am usually the first one to begin an assignment, so I am always the one who asks questions first. So pretty much just having that relationship with my teachers. It's helpful in the long run.

SW: That’s great advice for anyone. Well thank you for this interview. Do you have anything else that you want to add?

VH: No, thanks I think that's pretty much it.

SW: Thank you, and I wish you the best of luck.

VH: Thank you!