Man on the Street: Things I Would Tell Freshman Me

THINGS I WOULD TELL FRESHMAN ME... Upperclassmen share what they would have done differently. MAN ON THE STREET

TAMARA GOEBBERT | STAFF WRITER

Freshman self: Don’t party as much and mostly think about the future. It’s coming pretty fast. That’s what I realized soon after freshman year. I was just partying and was really distracted. [Also] … Freshman self: volunteering is really important because … if you’re volunteering, you get to see new perspectives in different settings so that you know what you really want to do.

JOEL PANICKER Junior Kinesiology I would tell myself, ‘Go to all your classes and make sure that you try your hardest and don’t take for granted the opportunities that you have,’ especially because of that fact that within my family, it’s not really a thing to go to college and the fact that I’m doing it makes me want to make sure I excel at it.

MARISSA CHAVEZ Junior Exploratory

The simplest thing that you could do is not be afraid to ask for help. You might be a little embarrassed to say ‘Oh, I need help with something’… [but] most of the professors actually want to help you. Try to learn from other students as well. There are so many tips you can use to make your college life better [along with] a lot of resources available for you as a student. I struggled a lot with math at Windward Community College until I started using their instructors or their math labs and then suddenly it became a lot easier.

PAUL WORTHLEY Senior Communicology I failed physics the fi rst time I took it and I was like, ‘Oh, I didn’t know this was going to be diffi cult’ because it really hits you in the face when you start taking college level science courses. Keep your head down and keep going. If you believe in what you want to do, then I think you have to really stick through it and you’ll be really happy that you did, so don’t give up at the fi rst speed bump because it’s going to be alright in the end.

KEANU TRAVALINO Senior Electrical Engineering & Spanish

I pr obably wouldn’t listen but knowing what I know now just, ‘Try to fi nd something that motivates you to go to school every day, keep up with your classes, you can always fi nd time to hang out with your friends later, and always make time for your family.’ It’s very easy to get caught up in school life and to push your family aside but they’re always going to be there for you and support you. ‘Be open to meeting new people. It can be scary to meet or talk to new people, but most people are generally nice.’ I would also say, ‘When you’re studying for exams, make a Quizlet account.’ Quizlet is my biggest life saver - they have interactive games and it’s really helpful when you’re trying to do stuff especially studying for midterms. Also make sure you get a chance to know your professor – talk to them, make sure they’re aware of your presence, ask them questions, and that will get you a better grade. So, ask those questions, talk to them – they’re people too.