UNOH Grad Looks Back at his Time at UNOH
Posted on Tuesday, June 16, 2020
Daniel Sanchez, 2020 UNOH Graduate
Written by 2020 UNOH Graduate: Daniel Sanchez
October 5th, 2015 was my first day of school at UNOH. I remember being more nervous than ever before in my life. Would college be too difficult? Would I be able to make new friends being this far from home? Did I choose the right degree? These were just a few of the thoughts going through my mind. As soon at the instructor walked into my Electrical & Electronics 1 class, my nerves began to settle. I had a great time in class and even made a new friend on the first day. Having the small class sizes was amazing. The instructors made it feel like we had been friends forever. What I mean by this is, the instructors were not afraid to pick on you a little bit but were also there for you when you needed help. I know Mr. Marker will know exactly what I mean when I say that.
As time went on, I was able to join the UNOH Motorsports team and the RACER Leader student ambassador program. This is where my friendships really began to grow. My first year on the motorsports team I tried out as a driver and was selected to drive the #00 Thunder Stock. I was on the team for the 2016 Limaland season. After my first year on the team, a few of my friends and I, along with my family, decided to start racing in Ohio separately from the team. In 2018, we won the Limaland Thunder Stock championship. That is a night I will cherish for the rest of my life. As for the RACER Leaders, I am proud to say I am still a part of this group 4 years later. I have made so many friends from all over the world with the RACER Leaders. I also really enjoyed meeting all of the new students and getting to talk with faculty during open houses and orientations. One thing I will really miss about being a student ambassador is the RACER rock signing and group pictures while getting to talk with Todd and Georgia from marketing before they took our pictures. Through RACER Leaders, I was also able to build a relationship with both Deans of the University. I’m not sure that many other universities have Deans like Dean Fitzpatrick who would high five me walking down the hall whenever he saw me. Having a Dean be this personable and approachable, really makes students feel welcome.
In 2017, I joined the UNOH American Marketing Association. Within my first month, we traveled to New Orleans for an international business competition and we won the top small chapter in the world. This is where I met Dr. Mann, the chair of the marketing department at UNOH. She has really helped me grow overall as a person and a professional. She pushed me to do the 2+2 bachelor’s degree after I graduated with my associate degree in high performance motorsports and automotive technologies.
On campus I wore many hats, so to speak. I was a student, a RACER Leader, president of the UNOH AMA club, and most recently I became a tutor. Being a tutor has been super rewarding for me. UNOH has helped me build a solid foundation for success and I am glad I may have been a small part of that for other students as well. I loved going into work every day. Everyone in the student success department is incredibly nice. My coworkers and I shared many smiles, laughs, and more great memories. It was a pleasure to have bosses like James Young- Nastally and Danielle McClure.
Well, here I am, it is now June, 2020 and I am graduating with my bachelor’s degree in business administration with a marketing concentration. UNOH and the UNOH AMA has provided me with so many professional opportunities that I would have never dreamed of. I am currently working for StarCom Racing, a NASCAR Cup team as a marketing assistant.
I am extremely grateful for all of my professors, instructors, and advisors I had along the way. While it is sad that I won’t be able to walk the stage with all of my friends for graduation, it means a lot that UNOH put on a virtual graduation. This last quarter of virtual classes was not how I expected to end my college career, but we all made that best of it. As a UNOH graduate, I have many opportunities after graduation, and I am looking forward to tackling whatever steps come next in my life. Before I finish up, I want to give a very emotional thank you to my family who, when I got homesick, traveled to Ohio every time to see me. I also want to say thank you to all of the great friends I made along the way and I will forever be cheering you all on in life.
To all of my fellow graduating students, I will wrap up with this quote from Suzanne Weyn, “Your life is an occasion. Rise to it.”
Category: Applied Technologies, Business, Health, and Occupational Professions
Keywords: Daniel Sanchez, Automotive, High Performance, Business Administration, Marketing
