Benjamin Teman (B.S. ’23)

Why major in neuroscience?

Actually, I came in undecided because I knew I wanted to go to school, but I had no idea what I was going to do. I had so little idea that one day I said, “Please universe, send me a sign. What should I major in?” That day, I was tabling for an event, and someone said, “Hey, Ben, are you a marketing major?” And I said, “I am now.” I became a marketing major and then, from marketing, went to finance. Then the pandemic happened, and I was spending a lot of time alone in my room thinking, “What am I going to do with a finance degree?” I realized it just wasn’t for me. I couldn’t see myself doing it five or 10 years in the future. I made the switch, again — this time to pre-med, mostly because the world was burning down and I thought we needed more doctors. I was very passionate about that, plus my grandma had been diagnosed with dementia and was not in a good place. I wanted to honor my grandma by doing something that was in the realm of what she was suffering with. Also, neuroscience was a path I could take to graduate on time. I started taking classes and realized beyond my initial interest because of my grandma, I wanted to continue studying that major because it’s cool. And it turned into a passion.

What’s next for you?

I plan on hopefully getting into medical school. I took my MCAT in August. I get my scores soon, and I am anxious! It’s a very scary process, but hopefully I get into the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University — my number-one choice. My true interest in medicine is pediatrics.

Were you involved in any activities on campus?

I was in a fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Pi, and I was philanthropy chair two times over the course of three years. A lot of it was raising money for charity, throwing events and other things. My biggest achievement through philanthropy was being able to raise over $10,000 for charity.

I was also a tour guide at the Welcome Center. Being a tour guide was really great. I got to meet a lot of people, learn more about the campus and talk to people who were in a similar boat as I had been — nervous about starting school on a downtown campus.

How has Georgia State helped you realize your dreams?

Georgia State was a good playground for me. I spent my entire life surrounded by my family, which is a great support system but also a very suffocating support system. I needed to get out and be in a place where I was alone by myself, I could do whatever I felt like and grow in my own way. I had an idea of who I was, but then I came here and I found out this is what I like and this is why I like doing it, and it pushed me in the right direction. To this day, Georgia State has some of the best professors I’ve ever had the pleasure of being in classes and in contact with, some of whom I’m still in contact with today. They wrote me letters of recommendation for school, they guided me on the right path and they gave me advice that I think I’ll use till the end of time.

What is something future students should know about Georgia State that not many people know?

The main thing I tried to drill into every person’s head when they were on tour or I was just giving them advice was to find out what resources you have for free and use them. You could spend so much money on stuff that you already have and don’t need. I used some of them for my entire time at Georgia State. I used others only my last two weeks at Georgia State, and I kicked myself for not using them the whole time.