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Twenty-one-year-old
Corey McAllister says he loves everything about Dalton State,
especially his upper level Business Administration courses.
“I’ve been around business all my life,” says McAllister, whose
mother is an account manager and whose father manages a large
retail store. “It’s second nature to me.”
What isn’t second nature to him is being a college student.
McAllister is the first in his immediate family to pursue a
bachelor’s degree. And while he considered going away to college
when the time came three years ago, he decided on Dalton State
because it was close to home and very affordable.
“I had initially planned to spend a couple of years here and
then transfer, but after being on campus for a few weeks, I fell
in love with this college,” he says.
In fact, he enjoys being in college so much that he is planning
a career in academia, and hopes to one day pursue both a
master’s and a Ph.D. in business after he earns his BBA in
Management this December.
McAllister, who has taken classes during the summer for several
years, believes that taking classes in the “off season” is a
smart idea.
“Some people are afraid to take classes in the summer because
there’s not as much time to master the material,” he says. “To
them I say, ‘Don’t be afraid,’ because they’re just like all the
other classes. The courses are just more condensed, but if
you’re aware of that and use your time wisely to study for them,
you should do okay.” |
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McAllister says the courses he’s taking have already been
applicable for him in the “real world.”
In his “Principles of Marketing” class, taught by Dr. Stephen
Lemay, McAllister says he’s learned a lot about the psychology
of selling, understanding the “how’s” and “why’s” of consumer
behavior.
“And Dr. Lemay’s ‘Channels of Distribution’ class has helped me
understand how stores get their products from their warehouses
to the stores,” he says.
“I really like the way so many of my business professors teach.
Dr. (Harold) Jones gets the students really involved. I’ve taken
‘Human Resources,’ ‘International Business,’ and ‘Organizational
Effectiveness’ from him, and he requires us to make
presentations in class. I thoroughly enjoy that kind of
interaction.”
In addition to attending classes and studying, McAllister works
as a Peer Leader for Academic Resources. In that capacity, he
helps tutor other students.
“I’ve been doing a lot of assessment of the Peer Tutoring
Instruction program with respect to how these initiatives have
been working,” says McAllister.
“What we’ve found so far is that we’ve seen great improvements
among students who have had the benefit of having a tutor. Some
have gone up a letter grade to a grade-and-a-half in one
semester.
“It shows that a little bit of help can go a long way.”
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