Meet El Paso Native: Christina Boatman

Meet Christina Boatman

I met Christina my freshman year at UT. She is an incredibly sweet person with a caring and kind heart. She is passionate about helping children and wants to make a true difference in other people’s lives. She is a truly amazing person and I am glad to call her a close friend.

Hometown: El Paso

Year: 3rd Year

Major: Youth and Community Studies

1. How do you like Austin? Is it any different from what you expected it would be?

I do enjoy Austin. There’s always something new to do. Austin is very diverse and there’s a variety of cultures. It was different than what I expected it to be. I thought Austin would be very busy and have lots of people running around a lot. I’m from El Paso, which is a smaller city than Austin, and I thought it would be a harder adjustment. But it was not that bad.

1. What is your favorite thing to do in Austin?

Hmm what is my favorite thing to do in Austin? I guess I like to explore the nature parts, like the Greenbelt, Mount Bonnell, and other stuff like that.

1. What is one thing you wish someone would’ve told you as an incoming freshman?

It gets easier. I feel like freshman year almost everyone struggles with making friends, classes, and joining organizations. I feel everyone feels alone in that. Then you see everyone else and think that they’ve got it together, but they’re struggling too. Once you find your circle of friends, then it does get easier.

1. You were a FIG (first-year interest group) mentor; how was that?

It was good. Being a FIG mentor was incredibly rewarding. My first year was hard; being able to help people adjust to their first year was rewarding. As a FIG mentor, I acted as a guide to those students and helped them navigate their first semester. It showed me that I do want to work with children in that guidance position.

1. What’s been your favorite organization that you are a part of?

Texas APO (Alpha Phi Omega). APO was the first org I joined in college. It gave me a home away from home. I found friends and people I relate with, and I learned how to be myself. I became more confident in myself and my abilities. APO helped shape who I am. I also found a lot of opportunities with APO, for example becoming a FIG mentor.

1. You changed your major twice; how was the process? What made you change it?

I started off as a business major, but after taking a few business classes I realized that I didn’t want to do business. I felt my personality didn’t fit with the business school or the students there either. So, I changed my major to Social Work. It was a scary process because I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect. I didn’t want to fall behind. I feel there’s so much stigma about not knowing what you want to do. Social work was good and I enjoyed it. However, it was very restrictive in the sense that once you graduated you were a social worker. Social workers act as a middle man between the community and the resources they need. That’s not what I wanted to do. I wanted to be the resource. After doing some research, I found Youth and Community Studies. It seemed to be more of what I wanted to do and there were more after graduation options.

1. Do you have any advice for anyone who is thinking about changing majors?

Take into consideration that what you’re majoring in becomes what you do for the rest of your life. You should major in what truly makes you happy. Don’t just do what people want you to do or what makes the most money. Major in what you’re passionate about. If you do that, then you will succeed.

1. What do you want to do when you graduate?

Once I graduate, I want to go to graduate school for educational psychology with a focus on school counseling. Once I’m done with that, I want to be an elementary school counselor.

1. What are you looking forward to the most in the future?

I guess what I’m looking forward to the most is being able to live out my passions every day. I’m looking forward to being able to help elementary school children and giving back what was given to me as a child. I will be able to help make the beginning of their lives as successful as possible.