Transferring to Kettering University from St. Clair Community College, David Seppo expected the coursework to intensify. But a positive byproduct of the challenging, competitive environment at Kettering is that it also inspired Seppo to achieve more.

“As a community college student, I was kind of overwhelmed my first term here,” Seppo said. “But the longer I stayed, and as my classes got harder, my grades kept improving. Kettering turned me into a better student. It is challenging, but that teaches you to apply yourself.”

Although Kettering is competitive, Seppo, a senior who graduate from Port Huron High School, also found that there is a lot of camaraderie and it’s easy for students to find help from a variety of resources.

“I’ve been able to get help whenever I’ve needed it,” he said. “Tutoring is always available. Upperclassmen at Kettering always help.”

Seppo, from Port Huron, was initially attracted to Kettering because of its renowned co-op program. Co-op helped set Kettering apart from other engineering programs he was considering. In addition, the process of transferring from SC4 to Kettering was an easy transition because of the transfer credit agreement between the two schools.

“Co-op is what attracted me to Kettering,” he said. “The Kettering-SC4 transfer agreement made the transition to Kettering very smooth and allowed the majority of my credits to transfer with me.”

Seppo, who is majoring in Chemical Engineering, has a co-op job with Emergent BioSolutions, a pharmaceutical company in Lansing, Mich. He’s an assistant project manager who fills a variety of roles for the company.

He also came to Kettering as a Phi Theta Kappa student and earned one of Kettering’s Phi Theta Kappa scholarships. His experience in community college helped position him for a scholarship at Kettering that he likely wouldn’t have been able to attain out of high school.

“Although I had a high GPA in high school, I did not score high on my ACT. Because of this, I would not have been awarded a scholarship straight out of high school,” he said. “However, once in community college your high school ACT scores become less important in the eyes of universities. After earning a high GPA at SC4, I was then eligible for a very rewarding Phi Theta Kappa Scholarship.”

Seppo says that community college transfer students considering Kettering should plan their transfer early on to plan out courses and make sure credits transfer. He believes Kettering has been a great fit for him since transferring.

“Kettering will prepare you for a great job,” he said. “You will have a large advantage over other students, due to gaining more than two years of experience at a company through co-op. Kettering matures you as a student. When looking at friends who are just receiving the traditional college experience, I feel much further ahead in life.

Interested in transferring to Kettering University? Get more information or call Roger Smith, Transfer Coordinator at 800-955-4464 ext. 7865.