Finding her place: How transfer student and mentor Amber Hazel found her home in Geography at MSU

October 21, 2025 - Diane Huhn

When Amber Hazel transferred to Michigan State University from Mott Community College, she didn’t expect to find herself majoring in geography or becoming a mentor to other transfer students who, like her, were searching for their place on campus. But through exploration, openness, and a few inspiring professors, Amber not only discovered her academic passion but also a sense of belonging in the Department of Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences.

Amber, who lives in Flint, Michigan, has moved around quite a bit — from her home in Michigan to Tennessee to Florida to her current home in Flint — but says she’s finally found her academic “home” at MSU. After bouncing around from job to job and city to city, Amber decided she was tired of settling for a career that just didn’t feel fulfilling.

She returned to school and earned an associate degree from Mott Community College in general science with a focus on environmental studies and initially transferred into the environmental geosciences program at MSU. “All my favorite classes ended up being geography courses,” she laughed. “Geomorphology was my first class on campus, and I loved it. Then I took meteorology, and I thought, ‘Why am I not majoring in geography?’ So, I switched that spring — and it was the best decision I’ve made.”

That pivot, she says, came from confidence built over time. “Being an older student, I’m okay with changing direction,” Amber explained. “All my life, I’ve done what I thought I should do. But something finally clicked, and I decided to stop doing what I thought I should do and started doing what I actually wanted to do.”

But her transfer to MSU wasn’t without challenges. The logistics of transferring credits, wading through nerve-wracking amounts of paperwork, and starting in the spring semester made things bumpy at first. “There were definitely hiccups,” she admitted. “And when I got here, it was a huge adjustment going from a smaller community college to a campus with 50,000 students. I remember sitting in my first 300-level class thinking, ‘Oh wow, this is going to be hard.’”

Still, Amber found her footing through MSU’s Transfer Student Success Center (TSSC) and the Transfer Experience Mentorship Program (TEMPO), where she began as a mentee and now serves as a mentor. “TEMPO really helped me feel like I belonged,” she said. “It made me realize — no, I do belong here. I’m a Spartan.”

Now, as a mentor, Amber is passionate about helping other transfer students overcome that same feeling of isolation. “You miss out on things like Welcome Week when you transfer, especially if you commute,” she said. “It can be intimidating to show up to events or talk to new people. I tell students, just take that one moment of blind courage — go to that event, talk to that person. You’ll be so glad you did.”

Her enthusiasm for the transfer community mirrors the energy she’s found in her classes. “The professors in geography are just so passionate about what they do,” she said. “Dr. Schaetzl and Dr. Wilson really inspired me — their excitement for their work is contagious.”

Amber’s path to geography was anything but straight. Before coming to MSU, she spent 15 years working as a baker and pastry chef. “I went to culinary school and had a whole different career,” she said. “But I always loved the environment, and eventually I just went for it. I wish I’d done it sooner, but I don’t think I would have appreciated it as much back then.”

Now, she brings that perspective and her trademark humor to mentoring and to life. “I tell transfer students, don’t do something because you feel like you should; do it because you want to. And give yourself grace — it’s okay to be learning, to change your mind, or to ask for help. We’re all figuring it out together.”

Amber’s journey is a reminder that there’s no single path to becoming a Spartan — and that sometimes, finding where you belong takes a few steps (and maybe a few community college transcripts) to get there.

For more information about the transfer student experience, follow the Transfer Student Success Center on Instagram at @msutransfersuccess or email the TSSC team at transfersuccess@msu.edu.