Skip to main site navigation Skip to main content

Thrive On: The Campaign for Utica University →

Utica University Logo
  • Academics
    • Programs
      • Utica at Florida
    • General Education
      • Current Offerings
      • Program Details
      • Themed Pathways
      • Planning Sheet
    • Honors Program
    • Utica at Florida
    • Online Study
    • Graduate Study
    • International Ed & Study Abroad
      • Study Abroad
    • Exceptional Faculty
    • Research & Experiential Learning
    • Student Support and Success
    • Schedules, Catalogs, and Resources
    • Institutes and Centers
  • Tuition and Financial Aid
    • Understanding Financial Aid
      • Value
      • Excelsior, Explained
      • University Scholarships
      • Endowed Scholarships
      • Annual Awards
      • Utica Enhanced Tuition Award
    • Applying For Financial Aid
    • Tuition and Fees
      • Tuition and Fees - Undergraduate Campus
      • Undergraduate Online Tuition and Fees
      • Florida Programs Tuition and Fees
      • ABSN Program Tuition
      • Graduate Tuition and Fees
    • Net Price Calculator
  • Admissions
    • First-Year Admissions
    • Transfer Admissions
      • Articulation Agreements
    • Florida Admissions
    • Graduate Admissions
    • International Applicants
      • International Inquiry Form
      • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Visit
      • Utica University Campus
      • Virtual Tour
    • Apply Now
    • Contact Us
    • Accepted Student Info
    • High School Counselors
    • High School Bridge Program
  • Community
    • Living on Campus
      • Student Living
      • Campus Engagement and Student Activities
      • Dining
      • Greek Life
      • Campus Safety
      • Utica University Campus
    • Satellite Locations
    • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
      • Bias Incident Reporting
      • Community Connections
      • DEI Collaborative
      • DEI Events
      • Dialogue on Race and Equity
      • LACRELA
      • Our Staff
      • Pronouns
      • DEI Reading Guides
      • Utica University Stance Statement
      • Wilcox Center
    • The Utica Area
      • Hotels and Restaurants in the Utica Area
    • Utica Stories
    • About Utica
  • Athletics
    • Intercollegiate Athletics
    • Esports
  • News & Events
  • Alumni
  • Giving
  • Apply Now
  • Directory
  • About
  • Library
  • Logins
  • COVID-19
Utica University

From Avionics To Phonology

  1. Utica Community
  2. Utica Stories
  3. From Avionics To Phonology
Natalie Hurley 14

Alumni
Story Topics
  • Arts
  • Value
  • Alumni
  • Military & Veterans

In her own words, Natalie Hurley '14, a transfer student and U.S. Air Force veteran discusses her experiences at Utica College.

My experience here at Utica College was incredibly positive. I came from a larger university. That had its plusses as well as its drawbacks. Here at a smaller college, the plusses are really overwhelming. I got a chance to really get to know my professors as well as my peers, and it was fun. I got a chance to experience and do things that I probably wouldn’t have gotten to do at a larger institution.

Originally I’m from Southern California, and I kind of moved around a lot. I like to say that the formative years were spent in the Midwest. I graduated from high school in Missouri, and moved back out to California where I attempted to go to college. It really wasn’t for me – I needed a kick in the pants, so I signed up for the Air Force.
 
There I was an avionics technician on F-15 fighter jets, which was really really awesome. I learned a lot of discipline, and a lot about just sucking it up and going with it. So that was four years of my life right there. They were the toughest ones, but they were the best ones as well, because I learned a lot about myself. I think those skills I learned have been applied directly to my scholastic and academic endeavors and have helped me become successful.

I came to Utica College as a transfer student from Alaska, and as a veteran I was looking for a school that was going to be compatible with my GI bill, because that was a big thing. I wanted to be a high school English teacher, and I still would like to. The State of New York is a little finicky with its teacher certification requirements and I’m still looking into that. But I just had a wonderful time reading my way through this degree program. At my last school, there was a large concentration in linguistics, and I find that fascinating, maybe for the reason why I excelled at my job in the military with mechanics and electronics is that I like learning how things work, and with linguistics you figure out how the English language works. So it’s kind like the nuts and bolts mechanics of the English language, and I find that fascinating.

I would love to expand more on that. If I were to seek out a master’s or further, it would probably be in linguistics.

But the reading material was incredibly profound. Poetry – I never liked poetry before. I thought it was pretentious and awful and the only person who understood it was the writer. And that’s not the case. I just didn’t know how to read it. I had a couple of professors, Dr. Cruz and now Dr. Leising, who really introduced me to some wonderful poetry and I was just reading it wrong the entire time. I actually really enjoy it, and I credit them both for that.

I got to know some incredible professors. Dr. Jason Denman, Dr. Gary Leising, Professor Suzanne Richardson, Dr. James Scannell, all of them have been really wonderful. They were all very encouraging with my writing and my academic endeavors.

More Stories

Julian Damashek
Faculty

Dr. Julian Damashek examines connection between aging water infrastructures and antibiotic resistance

Antibiotics are considered by many to be the peak of 20th century medical innovation, ushering in a new approach to...
Rendering of the outside of Bull Hall following the construction of a state-of-the-art Crime Scene Lab.
On Campus

New Crime Scene Lab to provide students with state-of-the-art, hands-on learning in incident response

Utica University continues to take its students into the future with the announced construction of an expanded, multidisciplinary Crime Scene...
Esports at Utica University
In the News

Utica University Partners with FITGMR to Enhance Esports Program

Utica University is pleased to announce its partnership with FITGMR, a performance and player development company in esports, to provide...
All Stories

I would like to see logins and resources for:

For a general list of frequently used logins, you can also visit our logins page.

Utica University Logo
FacebookTwitterInstagramYouTube
  • Academics
  • Tuition and Financial Aid
  • Admissions
  • Community
  • Athletics
1600 Burrstone Road, Utica, NY 13502
Map & Directions
(315) 792-3006
Contact Us
  • Institutional Effectiveness
  • Bookstore
  • Disability Learning Support
  • Student Right to Know
2022-2023 College of Distinction2022-2023 New York College of Distinction2022-2023 Business College of Distinction2022-2023 Education College of Distinction2022-2023 Nursing College of Distinction2022-2023 Career Development College of Distinction2022-2023 Equity & Inclusion College of Distinction2021-2022 Military Friendly School

US News Award for Social Mobility