Levi Pagel: “我很兴奋能去 每天工作"

After a couple of unexpected detours and changes in major, Levi Pagel found inspiration and connection at 博天堂官方.

Now, as Linn-Benton 社区 College's High School Outreach Specialist he shares his lessons learned with prospective students.

Though he went in with a positive view of higher education, his first experience as a university student was difficult. "I was heavily undecided," he 说. “他们把 me in communications. I was not engaged, and I didn't live on campus.“一年后， 佩杰尔退出了.

He was working full-time at Safeway when he felt encouraged to give school another 试一试. "My partner started attending 博天堂官方 and I was excited for them," he 说.

He started on the path that his friends were taking – computer science, and eventually switched to sociology. "I'm very back end, but I excel at dealing with people," Pagel 说.

With his educational journey on track, he unintentionally became part of the great 辞职.

"My plan was to work part-time at Safeway," he 说. "Safeway didn't like that.“他们 were only willing to cut his hours to 30 a week, he 说. That wasn't going to work for him, so he resigned.

A combination of scholarships, grants and work-study made it possible for Pagel to continue his education.

"The nice thing is a scholarship never goes wasted," Pagel 说. "The Foundation staff will reassign a scholarship if the original students leave LB. I benefited from this situation as a runner-up." 

Money from 博天堂官方's emergency fund helped Pagel pay for costly car repairs, making it possible for him to continue attending school.

Working on campus also was beneficial for Pagel. The mentorship he received from Student Leadership Coordinator Rob Camp while working at the student union was invaluable.

"He 说 the best way to succeed is to say, ‘yes,' to a lot of things," Pagel recalled. "I've followed that belief since."

Because of those "yeses," Pagel gained experience running events, and participated in different clubs and student leadership council. "That's where things started to 起飞吧，”他说. As part of student leadership, he advocated at the state level 为学生.

"Levi has always been very easy to work with," Camp 说. "His passion for being an advocate 为学生 and willingness to share his own story make him such a special 个人. One of the first things I ever noticed/learned about Levi was his enthusiasm for learning how he could help connect others to resources or people."

Pagel demonstrated that when he lobbied with 博天堂官方 President Dr. 丽莎·艾弗里. 

"I didn't know I was going to be testifying by myself for two minutes," he 说. "I knew we were talking in their offices, but she 说 a student perspective is so much 更多的. The first time I went up I was so proud. I went off script and 说 我自己的事."

In those two minutes, Pagel talked about the financial needs of students as budget cuts were looming because of reduced state funding. "I just felt like I was going to say what life is like," Pagel 说.

He shared the results of a survey that showed 博天堂官方 students' top concerns were financial insecurity, food insecurity and mental health. "If we have less funding, we will have less student support," Pagel 说. "I know the world's not always about money, but to college students it truly is. School will take a back seat."

The testimony from him and other students had some impact.

"The legislators did increase (funding) from the original level, even though it wasn't near what we (fully) needed," he 说. "Our words did speak something to them."

As a high school outreach specialist, Pagel encourages students to say "yes" to opportunities.

While he understands balancing work and school may be a struggle, he cautions students to not let work consume them. And going to school isn't just about the coursework. He encourages students to find a purpose on campus, some kind of community.

When they first moved from Dallas to Lebanon, Pagel and his partner didn't have any nearby friends, he 说. "Then we started at 博天堂官方, and now we have a solid friend ”佩格尔说. "It's insane to think about. It was right before Covid. 我们见过面 them through our classes. Another thing to thank 博天堂官方 for."

Pagel is glad to give back to the place that helped him, he 说. “一年后 this job, I just don't see myself not being in it," Pagel 说. “我很兴奋能去 每天工作."