Meet Hayley Nelson, Class of 2015

Friday, May 8, 2015

Hayley Nelson
Psychology major
Elmhurst, Illinois

Haley NelsonFuture psychologist Hayley Nelson has a nurturing side. This gentle compassion is apparent even in her reflections on her own college experience at the University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. She remembers entering the UI as an anxious freshman unsure of what path to pursue. She said she wishes she could offer her former self some comfort and tell her, “Hey—it’s okay.” These days, Nelson knows her purpose is in the field of psychology. One of Nelson’s dream jobs would be a therapist at a university counseling center. She may even end up meeting a scared freshman who feels overwhelmed by the future—and if so, they’ll have found the right person to talk to. Nelson will no doubt be able to reassure them that they’re doing okay, too.

Why are you glad you came to the University of Iowa?      

I’m glad that I came to Iowa because I immediately fell in love with the campus when I stepped on as a visitor and that love has in no way decreased. If anything, it’s grown even more. I just feel that this is a very unique community of very driven and very smart individuals, and when I’m here, I feel home.

What was your best moment here?

My favorite moment from my time at Iowa would have to be after I finished my final exam for one of my courses. My professor came up to me and said that I had made a great contribution to the class, that I had been an excellent student to work with, and that the field of psychology would really benefit from having me pursue that as a career. And at that point, I wasn’t exactly sure if psychology was right for me. After having that encouragement, it was like I found what I was supposed to do.

If you could talk to yourself as an incoming freshman, what advice would you give yourself?

If I could go back and tell my freshman self to change one thing, I think that I would have told myself to really take advantage of what the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences has to offer. And really, it’s okay to explore different classes, and it’s okay to not know what you want to do right away. I would have saved myself a lot of grief if I hadn’t had it in my head for two years that I had to take Chemistry and Biology and I had to be pre-med. It took me a very long time to realize that wasn’t for me and it wasn’t something I was passionate about. I would tell myself that this is what the university is for. It’s here to help you figure out what you want to do and figure out who you are as a person.

—Interview by Nora Heaton (BA 2013) and Dora Grote (Class of 2015); photo by Jill Tobin

The University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences offers about 70 majors across the humanities; fine, performing and literary arts; natural and mathematical sciences; social and behavioral sciences; and communication disciplines. About 15,000 undergraduate and nearly 2,000 graduate students study each year in the college’s 37 departments, led by faculty at the forefront of teaching and research in their disciplines. The college teaches all Iowa undergraduates through the college's general education program, CLAS CORE. About 80 percent of all Iowa undergraduates begin their academic journey in CLAS. The college confers about 60 percent of the university's bachelor's degrees each academic year.