05/15/19
Elijah and four other graduating seniors were asked to speak to the same four questions about their college careers. The transcript has been condensed and lightly edited for form and concision.

Elijah Malik Dean, Wichita, a 2014 graduate of Wichita South High School and a transfer student from Colby Community College, is graduating with a Bachelor of Science in health and human performance (recreation).

Elijah Malik Dean, can you describe you were when you first came to Fort Hays State?

That was so long ago, I don’t even know if I remember him. He was still a kid basically, kind of just – immature. He didn't really have much drive and ambition. I just knew I had to go to college.

I went to Colby Community College before coming to Fort Hays State. I was studying psychology, which I was really in because my mom always wanted to be a psychologist, but she never went to college. So I wanted to do this for her. Eventually, my last year at Colby, I started working out, going to the gym, and I fell in love with it. So when I came here, I found out they had a program like health and human performance. I said, sign me up, and it was the best decision I've made in my life.

How has your experience at Fort Hays State changed you? 

I have more understanding of myself now. You learn the most about yourself whenever you are by yourself. If I'm always around my father's home, always around my family, I’m just there, just using everybody else's energy. So when I came to college, I got to be by myself. I was like, ‘What do you like to do that makes you happy?’ ‘What are you going to do with your time?’ I had to take control of my life. Now I have more control and understanding of my pros and cons, my flaws, what I've been good at. Now I know what I can do on my own.

Who and what helped you become the person you now?

Experience. I was on the phone with my dad a couple of days ago, and I was saying that you can’t put any amount of money on the experience college gives you. It was worth it because this experience is like – it’s priceless.

The HHP professors, everything, like they actually care, you know, and they push you, and they actually spend a lot of time with you and want you to succeed, and want you to be better, and they are always ready to help. Even if you're not in the class anymore, they always really polite. I still go to professors who I haven't had in years in the department just go sit and talk, like, “Hey, what's going on? What’s new?” And they always ask, “How are you doing? Are you doing good? Do you need help with anything?”

I owe a lot to the HHP professor's, every single one of them – super nice, caring, genuine, and they just really want to see you succeed.

What else would you like to say?

I just want to say, if I can do it, anybody can do it. I'm not the most talented or smartest person in the world, but I work hard. Hard work can do a lot for you. People would finish tests in five minutes and I'm still working right down to the time is up. The professor is like, “Alright, time to close,” and I'm, honestly, I'm not even done yet. But I just want people to know, with hard work, you can do a lot. You can be the most talented and the smartest person in the class, but you won't work harder than me.

I had to learn that through college, through this experience. [Before], I would do the bare minimum. That way, if I did bad I expected it because there have been times where I've studied like a mad man and was confident, and I submitted a test and got it back and I was like, “I think you got the wrong grade on here.” But now it's finding satisfaction in trying as hard as you can. If I tried my hardest on the test, and I got to 70, I'm happy, because I know I studied numerous amounts of hours; I went and talked to the professor. When I looked over my page, I gave the best answer I could. And then I found satisfaction in that.

That's the greatest lesson I learned in college, probably. Hard work. Just work hard. Just do the work.