Arianna, Family and Consumer Sciences

Hello, my name is Arianna Esparra. I am a freshman majoring in Family and Consumer Science Education. I am a student ambassador for the College of Education and Human Development and a member of Cru at WMU.

I chose Family and Consumer Science Education at Western Michigan University because the day I stepped onto campus I knew this was my college. I loved the campus, the people, and I knew FCS was a priority here. At the time of my college selection, there were only two colleges in the state of Michigan that had FCS education as a major. After careful consideration, WMU not only had an amazing FCS program, but also huge amounts of support for students that chose a path in FCS. I knew I wanted a campus that not only cared about academics, but the students overall health as well.

I love how much everything is hands on. Most of my FCS classes are in person and last semester I got to be in a cooking class. Next year, I will study fashion design. All of these types of classes made me so happy in high school, so I'm excited to continue with them throughout college.

My favorite class so far would have to be Culinary Arts. I loved getting to cook and make great friendships. Through that program, I discovered my desire to also become a personal chef. Other opportunities have also risen from building a relationship with the Chef that taught the class. She asked me to help her cook for an event WMU is hosting and I'm really excited.

I have taken plenty of FCS courses within my first year. I have gotten to be surrounded by FCS and not just prerequisite courses. It's been nice getting to do what I love and meeting people that are willing to help me in my journey.

Without Michigan Family, Career and Community Leaders of America I would not be at WMU studying FCS education right now. I don't know where I would have ended up, but FCCLA changed my life. I was in FCCLA all throughout high school. I was given the opportunity to meet others, expand my knowledge on FCS, and compete in competitions aimed towards helping high school students get closer to discovering what they are meant to do in life. I remember the day I realized I wanted to become an FCS teacher and that was when I was on a FCCLA trip to WMU my junior year of high school. That day everything clicked and I knew I wanted to become an FCS teacher. Through FCS, I got to be a part of something bigger than myself and I fell in love with everything FCS had to offer.

Cru has had the biggest impact in my life. Cru is a RSO on campus for individuals that are wanting a space to learn and grow in their faith. Before Cru, I haven't found my community and life was harder without having people to talk to. Once I joined Cru, my life had bloomed in all the best ways. I now have an amazing group of Christian friends that I hangout with every week outside of Cru’s weekly sermon and it's been great. I also went to Gulf Shores, Alabama this spring break on a mission trip with Cru. So many opportunities have been opened up to me because of Cru and I will forever be grateful.