5 Things: Alyssa Pecharka

With golf in mind and the search for a great business school, Heidelberg came into play for Alyssa Pecharka. Although golf didn’t work out, she soon realized the opportunities the world has to offer her. As a junior accounting major, Alyssa found a home here at Heidelberg, where she continues to step out of her comfort zone, an aspect of life that she believes to be very important. 

CLOSER THROUGH DISTANCE 

Alyssa has always grown up with her twin sister, Olivia. You would think choosing a college and deciding on whether to stay together or go their separate ways would be difficult. But for Alyssa and Olivia, they’ve grown closer over these past years of being apart. “We had some experience of being apart in high school as our schedules were completely opposite,” Alyssa says. When it came time to make a decision about college Heidelberg won her over with the PlusOne Advantage® Tuition-Free Scholarship. She and her sister had different goals in mind and weren’t too worried about going their own direction. “We didn’t purposely choose schools that were close,” Alyssa states when explaining that Olivia attends Findlay University. They are able to find time every couple of weeks to meet up for dinner or travel home together and have grown closer than ever. When heading off to college, leaving behind your friends can be difficult let alone having to separate from your family. But for Alyssa and Olivia, it worked out in their favor. 

A MAGICAL SEMESTER 

When Alyssa was in high school, her mom saw a bumper sticker advertising the Walt Disney College program and had mentioned it to Alyssa. “I’ve loved Disney ever since I was little” she explains. So during her freshman year, she applied for the program. After getting turned down she tried again for the spring semester of her sophomore year and successfully made it through the interview process. While there, Alyssa worked at the Emporium at Magic Kingdom and was able to pick up shifts at other parks, allowing her to work at Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Disney Springs. “The Emporium is the second largest store in all of Walt Disney World and employs over 500 employees alone, so I didn’t even know all of my coworkers.” Her favorite part of this experience was getting to meet people from all over the world and of course spending the winter months in the warm state of Florida. This was the first of her many steps out of her comfort zone. 

ACCOUNTING FUN

As an accounting major, Alyssa was searching for an internship relating to her field last summer and fell upon Parker Hannifin. Here she was the only female intern but loved every moment of it, even after she had arrived late coming from her semester at Disney. “The second day of work I received free tickets to an Indians game,” Alyssa explains when describing her love for the firm. Every morning they did stretching exercises and during lunch, they were given the opportunity to participate in workout or yoga classes. Alyssa was also able to continue her love of golf while participating in the internship program and joined the company’s golf league, where she was the only one under the age of 35. She gained some valuable experience working in the company’s hose products division as an accounting and finance intern. The experience was so valuable she plans to return to Parker Hannifin for another internship this summer. “They really care about their employees and it makes you want to work there.” 

FROM GOLF TO RUNNING

When golf didn’t work out, Alyssa took up running and began to train for a 5K with a friend. “When I first started running, I wasn’t good at all. But each week I would try to increase my mileage and I’m now looking forward to another 5K this coming summer.” Picking up running is another step out of Alyssa’s comfort zone, and she describes the Thanksgiving Day 5K, the Turkey Trot, as an experience that she is very proud of. About 10,000 people ran the race in downtown Cleveland that day and Alyssa was shocked by the number of people there but it made her feel even more accomplished to finish alongside so many other runners. “Good things don’t come from staying in your comfort zone,” Alyssa expresses when describing this new experience. 

SINGING IN PUBLIC

Speaking about stepping out of your comfort zone, Alyssa has recently joined the worship team for Heidelberg’s CRU this spring semester. “I’ve liked singing since I was really little but never sang in public, ever,” she says. At the beginning of the school year, she thought about joining the worship team but was too nervous --  until this semester when she asked and they enthusiastically welcomed her. Alyssa thought they would want to hear her sing first and then decide if she could join. But that wasn’t the case and she was given her own song to sing after just a few practices. “I have no idea how to read sheet music and was beyond nervous to sing in front of a crowd but I am really happy I have decided to do this because it has strengthened my relationship within my religion and with myself.” For Alyssa, stepping out of her comfort zone has continued to be a rewarding process.

-- compiled by Amanda Overy, '20