Jenna Mcclelland
What is the most fundamental change you’ve experienced since your time as a first-year student?
I think I came into Wake Forest with a pretty strong identity, sense of self, and purpose. I’ve always known what values are important to me and why I believe in them. The causes that are important more me personally and that I want to dedicate my time to throughout my future have always felt very salient, which is an awareness I consider myself lucky to have. However, I think something I was lacking that Wake has definitely helped me learn was the direction I wanted to go in with all of these values and how exactly to pave the way for myself in a way that was true to me. I learned how to prioritize my values and balance the things I find important. I just think I developed into a person who not only has a strong sense of purpose and identity, but I became someone who has motivation and confidence in the direction I’m putting those efforts into.
What non-academic experience at Wake Forest was most meaningful to you?
Studying abroad has definitely been the most meaningful non-academic experience that I’ve had so far at Wake. I had the opportunity to study abroad twice, so I spent an entire academic year on a different continent! Through these experiences, I traveled to 17 new countries, learned languages, tried new foods, and saw sights that I only ever imagined seeing in pictures. Along the way, I made great friends and formed relationships with special people that I might not have met otherwise, which is something beautiful about the WFU study abroad programs. I will forever cherish my time in the Worrell House in London and in the Flow House in Vienna. I think i’m also one of the only people who has stayed in all 3 Wake program houses! (Worrell, Flow, and Casa Artom)
Wake Forest’s Pro Humanitate motto is a guiding philosophy for many students and alumni. Did it have an impact on your student experience and has it influenced your plans for the future?
The Pro Humanitate motto has definitely guided my Wake Forest Experience and helped me make the most of my time here. I have been a scholar for the Program for Leadership and Character throughout my four years here, which has really helped me focus on building my character in a way that allows me to serve my community. A lot of my professional and personal goals center around putting others first and serving people as best I can with my own unique skills. As I go forward, I plan to pursue a helping career in psychology, where I feel I will best be able to contribute to society at large in a field of work I am passionate about.
Wake Forest has lots of traditions, and sometimes students create their own. Do you have a favorite Wake Forest tradition?
My favorite Wake Forest tradition is definitely Pitsgiving. It reminds me of family and home. I think it’s just a great way for everyone on Wake’s campus to come together and connect in celebration.
What surprised you most about your Wake Forest experience?
My Wake Forest experience has been a beautiful, fulfilling, challenging, extremely difficult, yet wonderful mess. I really didn’t expect as many highs and lows as I’ve had, but even now looking back, I wouldn’t trade them for the world. I think that is what surprises me more: Even my low points here on campus have felt like lessons to learn and moments to rest in gratitude and humility.
Who most impacted your Wake Forest experience?
The faculty at Wake Forest have been life-changing. I cannot thank my mentors in the Program for Leadership and Character (Dr. Michael Lamb and Ann Phelps) and some of my professors in the psychology department (Dr. Christian Waugh, Dr. Katharine Scott, and Dr. Melissa Maffeo) for constantly being beacons of light for me. As a first generation college student, I was a little overwhelmed with the opportunities here at Wake and felt like these individuals really took the time to guide me and help me use my resources in the best way. I’ve learned so much from each of them and feel like I’ve really developed meaningful relationships with them that I hope last far beyond my time here on campus.
What was the most rewarding experience you had as a Wake Forest student?
The most rewarding experience I’ve had was choosing to go study abroad not once, but twice. One of my semesters specifically, was significantly more challenging, yet rewarding, than the other. I went abroad my sophomore spring, which is an uncommon time for most students, so I went abroad to London for a semester with nobody I really knew. I was scared and unsure about how the semester would go, but I decided to go for it anyway and I am so grateful I did. I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and expanded my cultural knowledge in a much deeper sense than I could’ve predicted. I made amazing friends along the way, as well. Overall, the semester was really challenging and definitely had times where I needed to lean on myself and those around me, but after sticking with it, I came out of it with a newfound sense of confidence, a lot of life lessons, and a ton of amazing memories that I’ll cherish forever.
Imagine you return to campus for your 10-year reunion. What do you hope will remain the same? What do you hope will be different?
I hope the sense of community that Wake Forest creates will be the same, even after all of those years. I think there is such a wide array of interests and activities that Wake Forest students have, but even throughout all of it, there is s sense of community, pride, and togetherness that embodies our student and faculty population at Wake. I can look to almost anyone on campus for help or support if I need it and I think that’s something really special that I couldn’t find anywhere else. The only thing I hope to be different if I were to come back for a 10 year reunion is just being able to see all of the amazing things my peers accomplish. I know some people who have bright aspirations and the skills and motivation to accomplish them, so I would look forward to see all that they’ve achieved in that time.
Now that you are a graduating student, what advice do you wish you could have given yourself as an incoming student four years ago?
I wish I could have told myself to have more grace – both for myself and those around me. We are all just figuring it out and college is kind of the most extreme example of that. Nobody knows what they’re doing, where they want to go, or exactly who they want to be and odds are, even by the end, we won’t have it completely figured out. With this knowledge, it makes even the low points and the mistakes something to appreciate and be thankful for. I think if I had known that, I would’ve been able to find a lot more beauty in some of the hardest moments here. But, I’d also tell myself that Wake Forest truly is the best environment I could’ve put myself in for my four undergraduate years and to take advantage of all of the amazing people , experiences, and resources it has to offer!!
Compare your career plans as a first-year student with your career plans now. Why did your plans change or not change?
When I came into Wake, I planned on pursuing a degree in Speech Pathology in graduate school. I really wanted to work with children with autism to help with nonverbal communication and other speech-related problems. I have always been passionate about working with individuals with disabilities, which is still something I hold close to my heart. My plans have changed a bit since then, though, as I now plan to take a gap year (or two) to work in a research lab somewhere in the United States that focuses on psychology and neuroscience research. After that, I plan to apply to doctoral programs in psychology, where I aspire to become a clinical psychologist and work with patients struggling with neurodivergence, personality and mood disorders, and more. My main motivation for my personal and professional future is still to help people in the best way I can with the skills that I feel I have uniquely developed.