Students bring their goals to life with TRIO-led vision boards

Students brought their visions to life Thursday afternoon in the TRIO lab by building personal vision boards filled with dreams of the future. 

The event was put together by TRIO, Troy’s student support services, in an effort to help students visualize their goals. 

“(TRIO) wants to encourage our students to meet their goals, whether it's long term, like graduating, or short term, like simply passing a test,” said Chasity Tillis, project advisor for student support services. “We really want to give the students a way to physically see their goals.  

“A vision board is a constant reminder of the vision and the goals you have set for yourself.” 

Tillis said she thinks creating a vision board is a great way to get creative, relieve stress and  build camaraderie with others. 

“I'm most excited to see the students interacting with each other,” Tillis said. “I know we have quite a few freshmen that came in this semester, and a lot of them are trying to make friends. 

“I know we have a lot of shy students, so interacting in a positive way by working together on vision boards is a fun way to make connections.” 

To meet goals, planning is an important step. 

“Planning is very important,” said MacKenzie Taylor, project advisor for student support services. “Planning is very important, which ties back to the Vision Board workshop.  

“We're kind of planning and thinking about how we want our year to look like.” 

Taylor adds that asking for help is also a big aspect of reaching goals.   

“We host workshops pretty frequently just to help students with anything they need help with and give them an outlet,” Taylor said. “It gives students a chance to think about, what are some things they can do to help themselves achieve their goals?  

“They can go to class, get tutoring, they can ask for help when they need help. I think asking for help is very important, and some people either don't know how to ask for help, or they're just kind of embarrassed.” 

Many students used their vision boards as a way to plan their major life goals. 

“I'm most excited for putting it on my wall in my room because every time I look at it, I’ll know there are the goals I want to achieve,” said Samuel Velez, a freshman majoring in international business from Greenville, Alabama. “Every little goal I achieve is going to bring me closer to my final goal.” 

For more information about student support services and upcoming events, follow @troymain_sss on Instagram or stop by the TRIO office in Eldridge Hall.