Kalid Gawon didn’t have a specific career goal in mind as a high school student in North Miami. He knew he wanted to go to college, but he didn’t have any idea where that would be. “Most people from Miami don’t think of the University of Miami,” he said pointing out the irony he experienced as a college-bound student, “it’s right here in our backyard, but it’s not top of mind for everyone.”
After consulting with his older sister, and a high school mentor, he set his sights on the Honors College at Miami-Dade College (MDC). The Honors College is designed to prepare its select students with rigorous coursework until they earn their associate degree then transfer to a 4-year institution. Kalid entered the University of Miami in Fall 2021 after doing just that. He is now a political science major on the pre-law track.
In 2019 UM and MDC formally executed this transfer agreement to assist students like Kalid. The highly competitive honors program prepares cohorts of students like Kalid with resources and guidance on transferring to UM, as well as guaranteed acceptance and merit-based financial support.
As a designated Shane Battier Take Charge Scholar in high school, Kalid connected with his mentor, a lawyer from Miami who always spoke fondly of UM. That, paired with other positive things he’d heard in high school, plus support from his community, started to make UM a possibility. Toward the end of his time at MDC, mentors from the Honors College encouraged him to apply to UM so that he could pursue his professional goal of becoming a lawyer.
Prior to being admitted, Kalid took advantage of virtual information sessions, and once he was admitted, he valued orientation peer mentorship events to connect with other students.
Now living in Lakeside Village Residential College, Kalid is fully engaged on campus partaking in organizations like the Chess Club, United Black Students, intramural soccer and basketball, and groups dedicated to pre-law students like LSAT prep and political science.
One of his favorite classes so far has been “History of the Third Reich,” discussing the behind-the-scenes of World War II events such as the use of methamphetamines by German forces. He’s currently working on a political science project in which he compares the Better Life Index of France with other global sites.
Kalid is taking on new opportunities on and off campus as well. Last summer, he completed an internship at accounting firm Ernst and Young in Washington, D.C.
Kalid advises fellow prospective transfer students to “Reach out. You never know who can help you. Attend every virtual session you can and try to learn more about the school you’re trying to transfer to.”
Want to learn more about how you can transfer to the U? Attend one of our virtual Transfer Tuesdays or get in touch with your admission counselor today!
