Most seniors agree that meeting new people and experiencing the diversity of the UA have been their best experiences during college.

Amy Bultman, a special education and rehabilitation senior, said she has loved working with special needs kids – something she wouldn’t have experienced if she hadn’t gone to college.

“”My best memories come from working with the special needs kids,”” Bultman said. “”(They) are some of the kindest, smartest people I’ve ever met. They are so genuine and so real.””

After she graduates, Bultman said she will pursue a master’s degree in social work from Arizona State University because the UA doesn’t offer a program.

The only regret Bultman said she had was not changing her major earlier.

“”There was a series of classes my adviser didn’t tell me about when I was a deaf studies major,”” Bultman said. “”It would have taken me two more years to graduate, so I changed my major.””

Steven Carrillo, a systems engineering senior, also said he regretted not changing his major earlier.

“”I switched from electrical engineering to systems engineering my junior year,”” Carrillo said.

Carrillo has taken a job in San Diego and will be moving there after graduation.

Ecology and evolutionary biology senior Holly Lawson said she wished she had taken a few classes more seriously, but she had a great time at the UA overall.

“”Meeting everyone and making new friends was so great,”” Lawson said. “”Between going to parties and joining the Wildcat Off-Road Club, I met so many cool people.””

Lawson said some of her best experiences also came from working in her field of study as a research assistant.

“”It’s nice to get a feel for what to expect,”” Lawson said. “”I got to go out in the field and help with data collection. It’s a good experience to know what the degree will do for you.””

Robert Garcia, a media arts senior, also said meeting new people and making new friends was the part of this college experience that really stood out.

“”Whether they’re from Japan, Italy or Mexico, meeting people completely like you and completely different from you was amazing,”” Garcia said. “”That’s one of the coolest things about college.””

Not living on campus was one of Garcia’s biggest regrets, because there are so many things that happen on campus after classes get out.

“”I probably would’ve been more involved if I had lived in the dorms,”” he said. “”The UA is a big place, and there are a lot of people here, but the more friends you make lets you create your own community. So the best experience I had was accepting the UA as my second home.””

After graduation, Garcia plans to travel in Japan for a year.

Andrew Clark, a veterinary science senior, said he doesn’t have one distinct favorite memory, but more of a combination of many.

“”Living in the dorm freshman year and getting to watch my friends from high school mix with my friends from college was my best memory,”” Clark said. “”These are the people I’m hopefully going to be friends with for the rest of my life.””

Clark, who is planning to pursue a doctorate in microbiology at University of Washington, said he just wishes he had been more sober and paid a little more attention in his freshman-year classes.

“”People change, but at the same time, we all stay the same,”” Clark said of his college experience.