Nathan Mathews

I initially began College Now in my freshman year of high school, where I was offered the chance to take College Now welding class. I had already really enjoyed doing metals in my school, and always knew I planned to go to college, so this felt like my path into it.

 

For Early College, I knew I wanted to get my college plan started because I wanted to be a physician, so it's best to start the pathway early. I was presented to by a college advisor during a previous year about how degree plans work, and so I looked into what getting a degree would take. Eager to begin as soon as possible, I reached out to that advisor (Brenda Williams) and she recommended me a degree, a path to get there, and an option on how to take a course to get started. By sophomore year, I was a college student taking a communications course!

The biggest thing I would ever tell anyone who is considering Early College programs is to ask for help, reach out, and communicate. This isn't something you can do alone, and you'll need some help trying to navigate and learn what resources you have.

I remember over the summer, I spent some time with a nursing student at Lane who eventually became one of my best friends! They showed me the impressive nursing lab that Lane has, and taught me things I never thought I knew. One of the most memorable things I have in that building were from that person.

Being a health science student, I was eager to do anything health science related. Lane was the location of a health professions camp that I was able to take part in over the summer, which was an amazing experience for me. I met many friends, made many connections, and got much more experience in medicine thanks to Lane's facilities.

The summer camp was especially good because it expanded my social sphere and ability to connect. I initially came into the camp nervous and anxious that I wouldn't know anybody, but was able to learn about Lane's atmosphere, opportunities, and their accommodating staff that was always willing to help out. I was shown that the community was anything but unfriendly, and there wasn't a reason to be afraid on campus.

Easily, high school is much more restricted in access to equipment and students are limited to specific classes that don't expand beyond minimal CTE [Career Technical Education] programs. Lane provides much more opportunity to explore facilities and use equipment that high school wouldn't be able to provide. 

I knew from an early age that medicine was always for me, but I was aspiring to shoot for the stars, so I knew I wanted to be a doctor. I had always been fascinated in human biology, but was especially interested after I took College Now Biology, which showed me just how fascinating and incredible the human body is. I knew for certain it was what I wanted to do, and Lane thankfully had a degree plan that worked for me. Despite being a community college, they had connections with local universities that cooperated with them. My advisor, Brenda, helped me navigate the transfer degree in biology that Lane had, which felt like it was made just for me and my plan.

Now that I've earned my science transfer degree in biology at Lane, I'll transfer to Oregon State University to finish up the Biology Bachelor's degree. If I have the chance, I'll get a job/volunteer opportunity in medicine, which I can carry over into a medical school application.

When I go home, I typically spend most of my time online. I play games and meet with friends while doing my homework between game rounds.

Spaghetti! It's always been my favorite food, and always will be :)