Uni is a rollercoaster. Some days you feel unstoppable, other days you wonder who accidentally put you in charge of your own life. And honestly, both are completely normal.

This week on our Student Showcase, Brooke sits down with Jadyn Paige, a fourth year psychology student at Ohio State who has crafted a university experience full of learning, leadership and growth. Jadyn is studying Psychology while minoring in Human Development and Family Science, Neuroscience and Philosophy. She is also a Morrill Distinction Scholar, the VP of Service for Mortar Board National Senior Honorary, a Resident Advisor and a Research Assistant at the Wexner Medical Center. In other words, she is doing the absolute most, but in a way that feels aligned, intentional and inspiring.

What makes her story special is how honest she is about the messy parts.

She talks about coming in undecided, battling imposter syndrome, learning to fail for the first time and figuring out who belonged in her circle. She opens up about people pleasing, finding her voice through advocacy and discovering who she is becoming as she moves toward graduate school.

In this episode, you will learn:

• What imposter syndrome actually feels like when you first arrive at uni

• Why coming in undecided can be a smart move

• How to handle your first real failures (and not fall apart)

• Why choosing the right friends is a life skill

• What people pleasing costs you and how to unlearn it

• How advocacy helped Jadyn find her strength and confidence

• Why your causes help you find your identity

• What resources students forget to use

• Why taking a break after graduation is more than acceptable

• The three pieces of advice she wants every student to hear

This episode feels like grabbing coffee with a friend who just gets it. Jadyn’s honesty will make you feel less alone, more understood and more confident in your own journey.

Connect with Jadyn:

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jadynpaige

Instagram: @jadynpaige_

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(Upbeat Music)

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Hello, hello everyone.

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So the guest that we have today is very

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special for two reasons.

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Number one, she's very smart

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and she's very accomplished.

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And number two, it's so hard for me to

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look at her and not see her when she was

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a little girl because

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they're kind of like family.

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So we have the beautiful, beautiful,

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wonderful, Jayden Page who as you can

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already tell, I dearly love and I'm so

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excited to have her.

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I am so excited to be here Brooke.

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I honestly like when you texted me and

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was like, "Hey, do you think this is

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something you might wanna do?"

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Absolutely and a heartbeat, I can't wait.

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And I'm so happy to see you.

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I'm so happy too.

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So for those that don't

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know, what are you studying?

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Cause it's such a fascinating field.

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Yeah, so I study a few

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different things, right?

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Right now I'm a graduating

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senior at Ohio State in Columbus

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and I study psychology.

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I'm getting my bachelor's of science in

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psychology, but I specialize in human

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development and family sciences as well

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as minoring in

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neuroscience and philosophy.

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So I've got my like feelers and reachers

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out in a lot of

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different spaces on this campus.

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Why philosophy?

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I feel like in the field of psychology,

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you need to be able to communicate with

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others and you know that

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everybody's brain is different.

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Everybody has different values and

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different morals and things like that.

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So being able to talk to people on a more

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foundational level on a more

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philosophical level is really helpful

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whenever you're trying to have hard,

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intimate emotional

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conversations with people.

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I know the plan is grad school.

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So you're gonna be shifting from one

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academic venture to the

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next academic venture.

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Yes, that is the plan.

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I'm going to get my doctorate degree in

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clinical psychology,

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which I'm so excited about.

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In the future, I hope to have my own

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private practice, so clinical practice

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where I can provide therapy for others,

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but I would also love to teach.

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I love academia.

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I am a lifelong learner for sure.

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So I feel like being somewhere like still

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involved with school and colleges, I

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think that's kind of

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my calling a little bit.

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I would love to do that.

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I have so much admiration for people that

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go into the social services field because

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you make such a big difference.

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Why did you choose the

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major that you chose?

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And is it always what you

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envisioned yourself doing?

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Girl, no.

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I want to be- She goes

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to be- Absolutely not.

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When is that anybody's answer?

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I really wanted to be a hairdresser as a

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bitty, bitty, baby child.

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I like that.

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Obviously not what I'm doing right now.

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Your hair is a vibe, so of course.

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Thank you.

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I do appreciate that.

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But yeah, no, I came into college

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undecided, believe it or not.

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A little background, so like grew up in

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kind of a smaller area, was really high

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achieving, and was doing all the things.

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I was involved in all

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the things, which is great.

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And with that came many

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opportunities and options for myself.

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And so when I got to college, I came in

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undecided because I wasn't quite sure and

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didn't really want to commit to one root.

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And that made me feel

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absolutely terrified.

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And I had the biggest imposter syndrome

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in the world because I would show up and

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I would introduce myself and

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I'd be like, "Hi, I'm Jaden.

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I'm an undecided major."

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And people would be like, "Hi, my name is

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Sarah, and I major in being an astronaut.

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And hi, my name is Becky,

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and I major in curing cancer."

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And I'm like, "Oh my

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gosh, I don't belong here.

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I don't belong here."

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But it was one of the best decisions I've

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ever made in my entire

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life because I got to actually

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learn a little bit about the field that I

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wanted to go into instead of just jumping

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into it because I felt like I needed to.

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And that's where I

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kind of found psychology.

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I knew that mental health was something I

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was really passionate about, and

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something that I love to explore and

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listen to others about the things that

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they're going through emotionally.

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I just didn't know the exact root,

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stumbled upon psychology, and I've been

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rocking with it ever since.

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I think that's amazing.

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I want to pinpoint something you said,

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and that's the imposter syndrome.

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Yeah.

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How are you still

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working to overcome that?

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Because that is a lifelong thing.

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We never reach the top of the mountain

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and get over imposter syndrome.

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Oh no, absolutely not.

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I want to say, especially as women, I

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feel like imposter syndrome can run

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rampant, especially when you are driven

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and high achieving women like you and I.

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Do I still have imposter syndrome?

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Of course, absolutely.

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And it comes through

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every transition in this life.

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And it's interesting to think about how

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my imposter syndrome has changed and

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little ebbed and flowed over the years.

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I think that when I first came in, I was

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like, do I even

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belong here in this school?

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And you're right, as women especially,

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and I think as young women, there's so

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much pressure to prove yourself and to

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show that you belong and show that you're

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worthy of the opportunities that you get.

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Absolutely. And that's one of the things that I think

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I struggled with so much when I was in

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university is trying so hard to prove

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myself that I didn't take advantage and

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really let myself be

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grounded in those opportunities.

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Oh yeah, oh yeah.

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I think a lot of my journey, and I can

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speak for myself and I can't speak for

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everybody else, but a lot of my journey

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has been rooted in self-acceptance.

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I think that before I would try to prove

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myself to other people, I really had to

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prove myself to myself and let me know

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that, hey, Jaden, I trust you.

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You've got this.

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You can make decisions that are best for

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yourself and make sure that you're making

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decisions that are, this is your life.

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This is the trajectory of your life.

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So I think having imposter syndrome is

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one thing and it's real and

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it's relevant and it's hard,

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but learning a little bit more about

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yourself, which college really is a great

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place to do so, is key to kind of letting

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you know that you can speak to yourself

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and be like, hey, you do belong here.

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Might still feel

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uncomfortable, but you've got this.

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You've done it before.

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What did you learn about yourself in

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college that surprised you that you had

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no clue about before?

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Oh my gosh, yeah.

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I learned how to fail here in college.

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Oh, then that's a hard one.

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I can tell you that for a fact.

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So like I said before in high school, I

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was cruising through doing things.

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I was a good student and I was in the

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sports and in the

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clubs and all the things.

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I got here and I had no idea how to fail,

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if that makes sense.

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So when I got here and I ran into time

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management issues and I ran into social

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issues, I don't have any friends anymore.

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I ran into all sorts of things.

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I learned how to give myself grace when I

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am faced with setbacks and faced with

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these challenges that I had never

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experienced in the past.

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I also realized that the

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people that you keep around you,

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those circle can really make a

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difference on your experience.

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And so being really intentional about who

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I keep around me in my space has been

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something that I have, I've learned more

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about what a quality friend is to me and

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how I can be a quality friend.

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And I've really appreciated the people

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that I've now have in my

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circle here at university.

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Thank you for bringing up the quality

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friend component because not every person

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that wants to be your friend

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is going to be a fit for you.

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And I wish we talked about that more as

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women, really as anyone, do I

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admire this person's values?

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Do I want to be more like this person?

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And would I be proud to show

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up the way that they show up?

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And it doesn't mean we want to copy our

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friends or be every, you know, be just

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like our friends, but

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do I admire this person?

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I wish I would have asked that more when

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I was choosing friends in university.

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Mm-hmm.

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Is this person aligned

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with where I want to go?

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I always say that like, you know, coming

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from high school, small town, whatever,

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you've got friends from there that'll

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keep you rooted, they'll keep you

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grounded and remind

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you where you came from.

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But when people are meeting you in

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university and college, they're meeting

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that version of you.

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They don't know where you came from.

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They don't know anything

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about this previous Jaden.

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So the people that you meet over here in

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college are wanting to see you succeed in

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the future endeavors.

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You know what I mean?

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And to make sure that you keep the people

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around you that I think you really hit

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the nail on the head, like you said, like

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not everybody is a

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quality friend for you.

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You've got friends that can do different

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things for you and

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fulfill different cups for you.

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But just recognize that you definitely

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have to be aware of who is here for

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certain areas and aspects in your life.

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Yeah.

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Yeah, and who is here to have a nice time

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with and who is here to

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share my hopes and dreams with.

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That is not always

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gonna be the same person.

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That's okay.

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There's literally

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nothing wrong with that.

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It is so true.

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How did you find your group?

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Yeah, so I am blessed and lucky enough to

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be a moral scholar here on campus.

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So the moral scholarship program is a

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program, a scholarship program that is

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full of students who are advocacy driven

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and who fight for social

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justice and things like that.

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So coming into school, I had this

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like-minded group already kind of around

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me, which was a great place to start.

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I will say that it ebbs and flows.

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You find your people,

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you change, you grow,

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but it was a lovely starting point

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because we already

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had something in common.

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One of my best friends,

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I found her in a class.

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We sat in a philosophy class together.

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Like one of my other best friends, she

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was my neighbor down the

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hall, freshman year in the dorm.

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So you just accumulate people and figure

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out who you wanna keep around

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and who you need to shut off.

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And I think one of the best ways to do

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that is show up to the

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best of your ability as you.

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Here's what I believe, here are my

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values, here are the causes I'm

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passionate about, because then you're

332

like a lighthouse and the other people

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who feel that way are going to be

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naturally attracted to you.

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Absolutely.

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I can definitely say, and I sit here as a

337

semi-hypocrite, that I did

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not always operate that way.

339

Me either, I'm also a semi-hypocrite.

340

I'm a semi-hypocrite too.

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We could say, I would be like, yes, this

342

is the right answer, this is perfect.

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Girl, I was not, I was not preaching or

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doing what I was

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preaching back a couple years ago.

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It's a journey, I'm working on it, still

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working on it to this day.

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I'm fully 22 years old, trying to get to

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the space where I can live

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unapologetically, authentically,

351

is something that a lot of people

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struggle to do, and I aspire to be.

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In the past, I was not

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giving people my authentic self.

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I was trying to shape shift, be who I

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thought they wanted me to be.

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People pleasing.

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Oh, I like these people.

359

Oh my gosh, it is a

360

double-edged sword sometimes.

361

You can just come off as just this great,

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amazing person who just can work a room

363

and really can talk to

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anybody, but it's draining.

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Oh my goodness, it is so draining.

366

It's so draining and that pressure to be

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liked, when you run into a scenario where

368

you have to stand up for yourself and you

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have to say this isn't okay, then you

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walk away feeling horrible about yourself

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because somebody just likes you.

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And you know what, my mama, she always

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says, somebody might not like you, but do

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you even really like them?

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And that's a really

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valuable thing to think about.

377

Do I even wanna hold this person in my

378

circle the way that I have to be setting

379

boundaries and stuff

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like that to these people?

381

Might not be the person I

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wanna keep in my circle.

383

I don't know, I feel like,

384

yeah, people pleasing has

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its time and it has its place.

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And I think that one thing that's hard

387

about breaking that cycle and getting out

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of that cycle is that

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you will lose people.

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No, we're human beings.

391

Psychologically, we wanna be loved and

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supported and valued and so

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to let go of that is difficult.

394

Purposely almost

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ostracize yourself is difficult.

396

It goes against what we innately want to

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do in our brain and that's hard to make a

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decision for yourself like that.

399

Yeah, well, because being liked often

400

feels like survival.

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Oh yeah, 100%.

402

It is survival for many people.

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I wanna shift into your advocacy focus

404

because that's one thing I admire about

405

you is you're so passionate about the

406

causes that you care about and you get

407

yourself involved in to your point like

408

activities and clubs and groups that

409

align with who you are.

410

And that's one thing I think is so

411

important if you want to design your

412

university experience to be fulfilling,

413

you gotta get involved with your causes.

414

So tell us about your

415

advocacy work we wanna know.

416

Absolutely, absolutely.

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So back in high school,

418

we're doing a little rewind.

419

I was a sophomore in 2020 hit, right?

420

So not only is COVID running rampant,

421

we're at home, we're

422

quarantining, all of those things.

423

Racial tensions are high in the country.

424

George Floyd just passed away, he was

425

just murdered and I was

426

feeling just devastated, right?

427

This was heavy, it was hard on my heart,

428

it's hard for my people.

429

And so that's really where I feel like my

430

advocacy, my public advocacy started.

431

So like I'm doing with you now, I love

432

having conversations with people, that's

433

why I'm going into the

434

field that I'm going into.

435

And so I said, let's just have a

436

conversation about how we're feeling as

437

students in this time

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that we can't be together.

439

And honestly, it kind

440

of took off from there.

441

So that led me to being able

442

to receive a moral scholarship.

443

I am now involved on campus in advocacy

444

groups for the black community.

445

I've got friends and people who are

446

aligned with me who are now advocates for

447

the LGBTQIA community and the Latinx

448

community and the Asian community and

449

things along the lines of that.

450

So we're reaching there.

451

I had to set some boundaries and step

452

away from some of my roles because I'm a

453

student, I'm a research

454

assistant and multiple things.

455

But right now, one of my current roles is

456

I am the Vice President of Service for

457

Mortarboard, which is like

458

a national senior honorary.

459

So in this role, I get to do that

460

advocacy work in service, reaching to far

461

more demographics than I would just be

462

able to take on just as myself, as Jaden,

463

emotionally and logically.

464

That's incredible.

465

And I think standing up for what you

466

believe in and having those

467

heart-centered, heart-led conversations,

468

it builds those courage muscles.

469

Because most of us have something that we

470

feel very passionate about.

471

And I think for students, that's gonna

472

build your muscles, build your network to

473

get involved, whether it's I care about

474

domestic violence or animal abuse or

475

whatever it is, getting involved in

476

taking a stand is going to help build

477

your worldview, your perception, your

478

ability to stand for what you believe in

479

in a way that is respectful and firm.

480

Yeah, I think to your point, whatever it

481

is, it doesn't matter, but you have to

482

find what aligns with your soul and your

483

spirit and your heart.

484

Because if you're gonna be pouring this

485

much energy, time, resources and

486

emotional energy into supporting a cause,

487

it's gotta be aligned with who you are.

488

I found what I'm aligned with maybe

489

earlier than some other people might find

490

what they're aligned with, but this is a

491

lifelong journey and those

492

type of things can change.

493

And should change as you

494

grow and change as a person.

495

So yeah, I love that, I love that.

496

How has doing your

497

advocacy work changed you?

498

Yeah, what I'll say is we're gonna tie

499

this back into this

500

people pleasing, right?

501

So before-- Look at her, she could be a

502

broadcaster, I'm gonna tie it back.

503

Stop, give me a job.

504

When I'm thinking about advocacy, a word

505

that pops out in my

506

mind is opposition, right?

507

So obviously you're advocating for

508

something, you want change and with

509

change, there's obviously going to be

510

people who disagree with you.

511

I think as a people pleaser, that can be

512

something that's difficult to do.

513

It's not, in theory, it's not hard to

514

stand up for what you believe in.

515

And of course I would speak my mind and

516

say what I need, but you have to be okay

517

with the opposition and people who are

518

not aligned with what you're saying,

519

disliking what you're saying.

520

That is the whole goal of advocacy is to

521

use your voice and speak up to say what

522

needs to be said or what you feel needs

523

to be said, even if there's opposition.

524

So I think that changing me, it has, I've

525

gained confidence in my voice, I've

526

gained confidence in my presence.

527

I know that when I am speaking about the

528

things that I'm passionate about, I'm

529

speaking my truth and it doesn't really

530

matter about other people who don't

531

really like what I'm

532

saying because this is my truth.

533

And like my mom said, like I said again,

534

do I even really want

535

those people to like me?

536

Because if the people who are not aligned

537

with what I'm aligned with spiritually

538

are buddy, buddy with me, what could that

539

say about the energy that

540

I'm bringing around myself?

541

Not saying that you can't have friends

542

with differing opinions, not saying that

543

you shouldn't have people in your circle

544

who don't agree with what

545

you say, you absolutely should.

546

We can get complacent if we don't.

547

But when you're letting people in to this

548

emotional energy, to your space, to your

549

mind, to your spirit,

550

who are you bringing around and who are

551

you giving access to yourself?

552

Yeah.

553

And there's only one of beautiful you and

554

you always wanna make sure

555

that you take care of your soul.

556

Because it's just me

557

and her until the end.

558

Like we're sticking it out.

559

I read something when I went through a

560

hard time in my life a couple of years

561

ago that said you're the longest

562

relationship you'll ever have.

563

And that has always stuck

564

with me because it's true.

565

It is true.

566

Now I have a challenging

567

question for you, Jayden.

568

If you were going to give three pieces of

569

advice to university age students, these

570

can be pieces of advice

571

about absolutely anything.

572

What would those

573

three pieces of advice be?

574

Number one, I would say do something new,

575

something that you

576

have never done before.

577

If it makes you

578

uncomfortable, better, that's the better.

579

If you're like, "Oh, I don't know, this

580

is a cool opportunity, but I'm a little

581

nervous," do it, it's worth it.

582

I studied abroad for the first time being

583

here to a country that I did not speak

584

the native language, do it.

585

You should get out of your comfort zone,

586

even if it's just trying a new sport,

587

joining a new team, try out a class that

588

you've been looking at

589

just because you can.

590

That will exponentially grow your

591

understanding of yourself and who you are

592

as a person faster than any other

593

lecture, faster than anything that makes

594

you feel comfortable.

595

So that'd be my first piece of advice.

596

Second, we kind of

597

touched on it, find your circle.

598

That does not look

599

the same for everybody.

600

That is nowhere near a linear journey.

601

Mine sure was not.

602

And you might make a

603

mistake, that's okay.

604

Oh my gosh, yes.

605

Oh my gosh, yes.

606

I look back at myself and I'm like, "What

607

was I doing with these people?"

608

Oh, I know, me too.

609

Spending my time with these people.

610

And that goes for all types of

611

relationships, right?

612

Platonic, romantic relationships,

613

familial relationships.

614

Figure out who's serving you, who you

615

want to be, find alignment.

616

Figure out who's serving you, that's

617

really important to

618

find your support circle.

619

My last piece of advice, hmm.

620

If I could give one more piece of advice

621

to people who are in university, I would

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probably say to utilize your resources.

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Universities are here because you're here

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to get a higher education and they've got

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resources that sometimes they

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don't want you to know about.

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Yes, we offer these things,

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but take advantage of them.

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They're here for you.

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You're paying tuition, use them.

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Milk the place that you're at, milk the

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university that you're at, because you're

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only gonna be here for a certain time.

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So if those resources look like health

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services that you might need, use that.

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If it's just network

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connections, use that.

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It's free for, I don't

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know, Hulu for students here.

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Use that, use all of the resources that

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you can because they will go and you

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might not have another opportunity.

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And so like bolster

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yourself while you're here.

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This university is, yes, you're working

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for this university, but it's here

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supposed to be working for you too.

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This is a mutual thing, so.

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Yes, it's a mutually beneficial really.

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I really like that piece of advice too,

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because you only get

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that period of time once.

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So you want to optimize it to the

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greatest potential so that you can become

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the person you want to be.

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Because university is so much not about

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what you learn in the classes as much as

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it's about who you become.

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Absolutely, absolutely.

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I honestly couldn't have

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said it any better myself.

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I have had such an incredible time with

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you just kind of going through this

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journey and talking through

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so many deep, deep things.

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So as we wrap up here, give us another

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snapshot of like what's next for you on

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your journey when you'll be graduating.

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Yeah, so I graduate in May, which is

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right around the corner, which is crazy.

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Honestly, and I think sometimes it's a

672

little taboo to talk

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about, I'm gonna take a break.

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I know, right?

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I'm so proud of you.

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Thank you.

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I'm high achieving and I'm intelligent

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and I'm still doing my thing and have

679

goals and aspirations, but I'm taking a

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little bit of time for myself to figure

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out what's going on in my life, where I

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want to go, be really intentional about

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where I'm putting my time and energy.

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Just get a little life experience.

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It's my first time not in

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academia since I've been like six.

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So I'm gonna take a break and then, you

688

know, go on to graduate school, like I

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said, try to have my own practice.

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But really my goal is to help and change

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the community around me wherever I land.

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So whether that's here or California, I

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just hope to make at least a little bit

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of an impact around my circle.

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I have no doubt that'll be the case.

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I wanna say a humongous thank you for

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sharing your time and your energy and

698

your wisdom and your resources with us.

699

We are so grateful.

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Absolutely, absolutely.

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Thank you for even

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giving me this opportunity.

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It's been so fantastic to talk to you.

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Oh, it's been phenomenal.

705

And thank you so much everyone for

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joining us on another episode of the

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Campus Chronicles podcast.

708

So if today's episode gave you life,

709

perspective, or just a much needed moment

710

to breathe in a busy world, I don't want

711

you to keep it to yourself.

712

Share it, tag us, please send it to a

713

friend who needs to hear it.

714

And if you're not on our newsletter yet,

715

and what are you doing?

716

Go to

717

campuschroniclespod.com and join the crew.

718

We have all the behind the scenes things,

719

unfiltered thoughts from me and the team,

720

bonus resources and insider only invites

721

to events, giveaways and things that we

722

really don't post anywhere else.

723

I promise I'm not gonna spam you.

724

It's just the good stuff

725

straight to your inbox.

726

Being in university is wild enough.

727

You don't need to

728

miss out on what matters.

729

Sign up now and let's make this next

730

semester the one that you stop

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surviving and start thriving.

732

Until next time, stay bold, stay curious,

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keep writing your own chapter.

734

This is Campus Chronicles.