Jennifer Yost
Jennifer Yost
Lifestyle: Civilian resident
Majors: Management & Accounting
Jennifer Yost claims she’s skittish. She says she “didn't quite understand what ROTC stood for until [she] got [to Norwich].“ The cannon fire at 5 a.m. during rook week was a surprise. She’s making a joke. In truth, in terms of the challenges and standards Jennifer sets for herself, she is utterly unflinching. She’s studying toward a double-major, a triple-minor, and maintaining a 4.0. She works 16 hours a week as an assistant in the Human Resources Office and 10 additional hours as a peer tutor in the Learning Support Center. It should be no surprise that time management is her biggest challenge. The wonder is that she sleeps at all. “I still manage to get, normally, between 6 and 8 hours,” she says, “Some don’t.”
Despite her penchant for over-achievement, Jennifer’s goals are very down to Earth. She says she’s confident her accounting major has given her the necessary technical skills to get a job. Eventually, she hopes to settle down and work as a private, corporate accountant. However, she acknowledges that most new graduates start out in public accounting. And she may not be able to settle down as planned, because she's about to marry a man who will be working “for the government”, which may mean frequent relocations. Jennifer is resigned to meeting whatever challenges may come.
I have a lot of friends who went to a bigger school, and they have trouble hooking up with their teachers, their advisors, making sure they’re getting the right classes, having someone actually pay attention to them as an individual. Whereas, I feel like I get a lot of individual attention.
~Jennifer Yost
The combination of lifestyles at Norwich nurture a certain flexibility of mind. “I think it forces us to be even more accepting of personal differences than at other people’s campuses. I mean, other campuses might be more diverse in terms of culture, but the fact that we have all the different cultures, and then we have two different lifestyles, all at the same time — you really have to be very accepting and tolerant. Because if you aren’t, then you have a lot of issues. And you probably don’t stay here very long.”
Jennifer likes the small community at Norwich. “I have a lot of friends who went to a bigger school, and they have trouble hooking up with their teachers, their advisors, making sure they're getting the right classes, having someone actually pay attention to them as an individual. Whereas, I feel like I get a lot of individual attention.”
Asked if she has any advice for prospective students, Jennifer says, “You should definitely come visit. Ask questions.”
“This is a great school; it’s got character.” She smiles, probably thinking about cannons. “But I like it here.”
