It was once a place where people cleared out after work, where most restaurants closed by 3 p.m., where only the occasional sports game or First Fridays art walk drew a younger crowd.
Now Arizona State University students live and learn on the Downtown Phoenix campus, bringing an energy and presence that have helped inject new life into the area.
Majors are among the stars of the academic world. Whether students keep the same one throughout their time in college, change them along the way or double them up, majors play a central role in the college experience.
Rarer, though, are mentions of a minor or an academic certificate gained through completing specially arranged courses. That’s often because students don’t have a minor or in many cases may not even know they exist.
They’re more experienced, wiser and happy with how things turned out since graduation.
We asked several Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions Outstanding Graduates from the last decade to share with the current generation of students what made them successful — both during their time at ASU and afterward.
Social workers help people better navigate life’s difficulties, usually dispatched from government agencies and social service providers. But they are also found in hospitals and clinics, assisting those being treated for physical or mental maladies but who also need help coping with daily living.
Incoming Sun Devils have more than 800 fully accredited undergraduate and graduate degree programs to choose from — plus 275 available minors and certificates — and this fall they have more choices than ever to customize their educational journeys.
From global health to digital media literacy to human resources, students will gain the knowledge and experience to thrive in a wealth of future careers. Here are some of the new options for fall 2021 at Arizona State University.
More than a quarter century ago, a social worker helped a teenage mother cope with some of the struggles that come from being a parent at an early age. That teenager was Michelle Shangin, who today says the experience motivated her to enter the field herself many years later.
New graduates often wonder how much of what they learned while in school will translate into their careers. Ricky Duran didn’t have to ponder that question; he devoted his capstone project to examining and supporting equity efforts in his community, and immediately began applying the concepts from that effort before he even left grad school.
They may have been delayed a year, but Arizona State University is ready to go for gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which open July 23.
There are 20 Sun Devil athletes competing in Tokyo, representing 14 countries in six sports. Three Olympians — Jorinde van Klinken, Leon Marchand and Jarod Arroyo — are current students.
An academic leadership role hadn’t really crossed Megha Budruk’s mind before the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions' then-Dean Jonathan Koppell nominated her several years ago to attend the ASU Leadership Academy.
Likening her situation to a new coach taking over an already winning sports team, Kelly Bricker is becoming director of the highly successful Hainan University-Arizona State University International Tourism College (HAITC).