1. Tyler Starling
9/12/14
V100
To Whom It May Concern
For those who may not know me, my name is Tyler Starling and I was born on December
6, 1995 in Richmond, Virginia. I grew up with a large amount of my dads side of the family so
for the first 8 years of my life I was what you would call a “redneck”. My hobbies include
basketball, baseball, skating, and hanging out with my girlfriend. I’m a 6’4 gentlemen with good
morals and loves making people laugh day in and day out. When I was in the third grade my
parents decided to move to South Bend, Indiana where my mother’s mother lived. They figured
that the cost of living in Indiana was almost twice less than what it was in Virginia. After moving
I was really upset because I had to leave all of my friends back home, and I’m never good at
adjusting to change. After coming to Indiana and meeting friends I can personally say it shaped
me into the person I am today. Without the influences that surrounded me in Indiana I could have
been a completely different person back in Virginia. I believe my parents just wanted what was
best for our family. This is a significant part of my life and will always be the foundation of who
I am today.
So far throughout my first semester in college I can say I’ve grown exponentially as a
person and have become much more open to new views and concepts. Coming into the bridge
program I had no clue what to expect. To be honest I was pretty close-minded about it because I
wasn't ready to go to school two weeks earlier than all of my buddies. After going through bridge
and meeting all these new people I can say bridge truly was a good experience. Bridge gives the
opportunity to incoming students to feel more acquainted with the campus and give students a

2. feel for what college professors will be expecting of them. I know for a fact bridge will help me
throughout my first semester to stay on track and deal with any stress that may come along with.
Bridge has also given me the opportunity to volunteer and participate in “Toastmasters” at IREF.
IREF is a level one re-entry facility with the fundamental goal to re-enter long term offenders
who have been locked up back into society without causing them to re-offend. After attending
meetings at IREF I can say it has been a truly eye-opening experience. Getting the opportunity to
sit down and talk to these residents on a personal level is really amazing. Knowing what a long
history of crime they have we still can put away our fears and biases and talk to them like normal
human-beings. This opportunity has really given me a chance to look on the other side of the law
and see the repercussions for what could happen with just one wrong mistake. I will forever be
grateful for the opportunities given to me at the summer bridge program because they opened my
mind to a whole new thought process. By the end of this semester I have set personal goals to
finish with a GPA of 3.5 or better which will really allow myself to be challenged and stimulate
my mind. Also I would like to get more involved and be an extrovert by the time I finish my four
years of college, meeting new people and joining organizations will keep me on the right path in
college so I don’t veer off to distractions. Building up my resume along with meeting amazing
new people will be a great way to experience college life in a positive manner. I’m so exhilarated
by what the future holds and knowing I’m chasing after what I’ve been dreaming for so long is
such a fulfilling sensation.