Verne Semprevivo is a 2025 Selby Scholar who took on her freshman year at University of West Florida with great enthusiasm. Pursuing a B.S. in Psychology (Honors minor, Work & Organizational Psychology certificate), she is off to a dynamic start! Verne agreed to answer a few questions about the experience of being new to college, what has been most valuable, and what is on the horizon.
What surprised you about your first year of college?
I was most surprised at the ratio of academics to extracurricular involvement. I initially thought college was very heavy on studying and tests; I was pleasantly surprised to learn that my university encourages students to build first hand experiences that help us with our soft skills! Even for some of my assignments, I was expected to go beyond the classroom. For honors ePortfolio, my personalized assignment was to report on a project team I started and the testing that I conducted during our event.
What advice would you share with Selby Scholars just starting their college journey?
Find a mentor! There are a lot of campus opportunities that I didn’t know about until someone more involved let me have “the inside scoop.” Stay in contact with tons of people — even if you don’t like them at first — because you never know where an uncommon friendship or helpful tidbit can come from.
How has the Selby Foundation been helpful to you beyond the scholarship dollars awarded?
Staying up-to-date with the Selby foundation’s LinkedIn, and attending the foundation’s workshops has helped me build important professional skills that I can use starting today! Even as I write this, I am practicing self-reflection and technical communication. It also gives me peace of mind to know that there are people I can turn to if I need help.
Have you met anyone on campus that has helped you gain a different perspective (about anything)?
One of my campus mentors, Marshall Belk, helped me understand the value of listening and being personable. He came up to me out of the blue and took me under his wing! I was very introverted before, but he helped me grow out of my comfort zone, helped me get involved with our online event team, and helped me win a position in my university’s student government!
What are you most excited about as you continue your college experience?
I’m really excited to delve into my specific interests in I-O psychology and volunteer at Dr. Kass’s Human Factors lab!
We can’t wait to follow Verne for the rest of her college career and onto the next step, whatever that will be.