This is Harrison Stern. He is a junior marine science major with a minor in climate change. He is the USG class president of 2024. When I asked him for advice for freshmen, this is what he had to say. “I’ve worked a lot with the freshmen in terms of orientation and stuff. The most important thing I have for them is to join a club. In honesty, it’s one of the best things you can do as a freshman. When joining a club is one of the best ways to find a community on campus. One of the main reasons people drop out is because they feel like they don’t fit in. Joining a club is a good way to find that community. Something else that I think is really important is to read the syllabus. I look at syllabuses for my class once or twice a week to see what the percentage of each assignment is. I even print out the syllabus and put them in the front of my binder. The syllabus also has a calendar with assignments that I put into a planner. I put due dates in my planner from the syllabus every week so I stay on top of things. One thing I wish I knew about earlier was Onenote. This helps me organize my notes from all my time here. My last piece of advice is to be smart. Don’t do something in your freshman year that you will regret”
This is Gracie Banning. She is a junior media major in the 3+4 dental program. Gracie’s first piece of advice is to not force yourself to make friends early on because you will make friends as you go. She also mentioned that it’s important to be open-minded about your major and career. Make sure to explore all the options within your major. Joining clubs related to your major is a good way to figure out what to do in your major as well as talking to professors about options. Be friendly and open to everyone because you never know who you could meet in your day to day. It is important to remember that your professors are humans too, so don’t feel intimidated by them. Reaching out to professors is a very helpful resource. Find an activity that you enjoy and find restful. This is important because having a way to destress will help you when you are feeling swamped by schoolwork. There are many times when the amount of homework you have to finish or the number of exams you have to study for can be very stressful. It is important to have ways to alleviate this stress and to have time for yourself.
