The Dearborn Experience According to a Dearborn Wolverine
October 7, 2021
Learn more about life at UM-Dearborn from a current student who knows our campus best
Did you know that 93% of University of Michigan-Dearborn students are Michigan residents? Brigit Bradakis, a Bioengineering and Mechanical Engineering dual major, is one of them. The Livonia native has experienced the benefits of commuting to campus from home, and the convenience of living nearby at an off-campus housing facility. As a first-generation college student, Bradakis is actively making the most of her experience at UM-Dearborn, by getting involved in the campus community and taking advantage of the many resources available. Here, she shares her journey.
What were you looking for in a college experience?
Brigit Bradakis: I initially just looked for majors that fit what I wanted to do, which was bioengineering. But it eventually turned into looking for communities that I felt I would connect with and that would leave a lasting impression. I wanted a college experience that was more than just going to class and doing homework. I ended up only ever visiting UM-Dearborn, but I immediately fell in love with the campus.
What was it that you loved about the campus?
BB: It’s a hard thing to describe. I came during a spring Open House and I remember getting a tour and walking around and liking how campus was laid out. I also remember being in the University Center and seeing this space where students would gather and the options for food and how close the campus seemed to everything. It felt like a small community that I could really relate to.
How does it feel to be a Dearborn Wolverine now?
BB: So far, it's been amazing! I pretty quickly got involved and started off with a really good understanding of campus and resources. So many opportunities open up when you get involved. I actually got offered a position doing DUCC Mentoring [now the Wolverine Mentor Collective] in the Office of Student life because of all of the involvement and work that I've been doing around campus.
What do you think are the benefits of a commuter campus like UM-Dearborn?
BB: At residential schools, students are on campus because they have to be there in order to go to school, or because the expectation is that they're going to live there. But with UM-Dearborn, it's voluntary. You have to put the effort in to get involved and to be part of the community. It's a different level of commitment to the community than you find in other schools because you've got a lot more want to be part of it instead of a forced participation.
Do you find that the administration makes it easy to get involved?
BB: Yes. A lot of faculty and staff understand that students don't live across the street, so they make it easy to contact them to schedule appointments that work with your schedule. When you work on campus, they also work around your schedule.
Because we do have a smaller campus, it's easy to wander into new experiences and get involved. A lot of people are very open and will sit down and talk with you at the University Center about student organizations and those types of things.
You’ve commuted and lived at The Union, an off-campus housing complex near the university. What have each of those experiences been like for you?
BB: With commuting my first year, I found that it really helped jumpstart my career into being a college student because it forced me to wake up and be responsible enough to go to class at the times that I had selected. My first semester, I decided to be ambitious and schedule all 8 a.m. classes so that I could hang out with my friends in the UC in the afternoons. I got to pick my own routine, which was really nice.
When I lived at The Union, I jump-started the life of not living at home. It was a really great process because everyone there is a student, but you have your own space. You have the ability to study with others, but you're still living alone. The Union also has a lot of different community events that they host, so you can interact with a lot of different students. Another benefit is that you have Fairlane mall directly behind The Union, so you have a gathering space, a food area, shopping, and all of these different ways to interact with other students.
Both of those experiences were super valuable going into my adult life and I wouldn't trade them for anything.
What advice would you give high school seniors considering UM-Dearborn?
BB: Look at the resources that are offered at the school. They are very forward with everything that they have available — there are a ton that I didn't even know about until I needed them. Looking at those resources is super important. And look at what's valued at the school and what efforts they're putting towards different initiatives and towards the students. You can usually find that information very readily on the website.
Can you give some examples of helpful resources available at UM-Dearborn?
BB: We have free psychological counseling through CAPS, our Counseling and Psychological Services. They do group therapy sessions if that's what you feel you would benefit from, but they also have one-on-one sessions. Then you've got all of the advising teams that can help you with any and everything between first-year advising and as you get into your major. That really helps with making sure that you're following the right path.
We’re also an Adobe-certified campus, so we have access to Adobe Creative Cloud with software like Photoshop and Premiere, which was super important during the remote semester. And looking at the actions that the university took during the pandemic shows incoming college students just how much the university values their students’ and faculty’s health and the steps it took to protect everyone on campus.
What do you think is the value of a college degree?
BB: I'm very appreciative that I am in college. In this world of false information, for example, the classes that I've taken that don’t even necessarily relate to my degree, have really helped me with critical thinking and finding factual sources. It’s helped me understand why things are happening or the implications of things and that critical thought has really benefited my college learning.
Any advice you’d give for your former self as a high school student?
BB: I would say to learn about financial literacy. Look at how much you're spending, how much you should be spending and how much you could be saving at the same time. It’s super important, especially as an incoming freshman college student because that really is the beginning of your adult life.