Ben Phillips (top left), Yessika Ynzunza (top middle), Elizabeth Gaddie (top right), Ann Rodriguez (bottom left) and Amber Johnson (bottom right) advise students to get involved and have fun their first year at college.
Walking into the first day of the first class of the first year of college life is an emotional rollercoaster that even coffee and energy drinks can’t fix.
Students might not know what to expect, where to go, or how to prepare for the next few years of their lives. Here is some advice to calm those nerves and help make college a little easier.
Ben Phillips is a Creative Media major. As a freshman, he wished he had asked for help in the bookstore when buying textbooks. He also wished that he knew you didn’t have to buy textbooks on campus. Phillips also said learning how to pack a proper lunch.
“I spent way too much money in the cafeteria,” Philips said.
Yessika Ynzunza, a nursing student at UNO said it is important to find what you’re passionate about and do it.
She wished she knew more of the resources on campus. To help find those resources she said, “Overtime with the help of some advisors, I knew where to go and how to get help with classes or other stuff.”
Elizabeth Gaddie is an Accounting major. She found the hardest things for freshmen were how to set up a class schedule and how to find the right professors. To help with the schedule, she said to ask an advisor, but to find the right teachers, talk to other students who have taken the classes before. Her final piece of advice is to have fun.
“Don’t just worry about school. Make college a fun experience,” Gaddie said.
Communication Studies student, Anna Rodriguez wished she knew there was a student government for freshmen. Her advice is to try clubs even though it is a bit overwhelming at first. She said to make friends and go to the free activities on campus. Her final piece of advice is to network.
“Shake everybody’s hand because you never know when you will need their help on or off campus,” Rodriguez said.
Amber Johnson is an International Studies senior, and she advises underclassmen to take classes out of their comfort zones. She also says to look into the study abroad program. Johnson has studied abroad for a few semesters in Europe and Asia. She thought she would never be able to afford it, but there are so many scholarships for students to study abroad.
“It changed so much for me in terms of my career dreams,” Johnson said. “It can teach you so much about your own country and the world.”
