By Robby Valderrama (VCHS Class of 2005)
When Steven Giordano sent me a text message at 7:49am last Friday (May 11), I was doing what all reasonable college students should be doing: SLEEPING. In that text, he asked me to provide you with some insight on the college life based on my experience thus far at San Jose State University.
Exactly a year ago, I was in your position. Teachers, parents, and friends said the whole world was in front of me, but I felt the whole world was on my back. Now, as a second semester Business Management major, my first year of college is all but finished. In response to questions I have received from high school students just like you, here are some pieces of advice to give you a sneak peek of the next four years of your life. Condensing a year’s learning into one article, I will divide my ramblings into the categories of Social Life, Faith Life, and Academic Life.
SOCIAL LIFE- Develop and cultivate relationships at your new school. While this may seem obvious, it is absolutely crucial. Although sustaining high school friendships is worthwhile, new friends are vital for adaptation to your new school. By the time senior year at VCHS rolled around, most of you already had your set of friends, and probably tended to enjoy the classes you had with those friends. However, as you might imagine, this network becomes relatively null when you go to a new school. Therefore, do your best to be friendly in your classes, particularly in the first few weeks of school. An observation that helped me immensely was the fact that everyone, I mean everyone, is in the same boat as you, looking for new friends. Also, maintain a healthy relationship with your parents. While most of my friends check in far too seldom, some never check in. Neither extreme is necessarily “healthy,” so find a balance that works.
FAITH LIFE- Get connected by plugging into a Christian fellowship (Campus Crusade, Intervarsity, Every Nation are some I recommend). When looking for one, do not just look for how it can meet your needs. Instead, discover how your involvement can contribute to that group. Particularly for those moving out of town, the value of finding a suitable church cannot be underestimated. While you can find a church by looking through the Yellow Pages, the best way to locate a suitable church is by finding fellow Christians on your campus, particularly those who are native to the area, and asking them for advice.
ACADEMIC LIFE- About two or three weeks into my first semester at SJSU, I was talking online with Jeff Kwong (VCHS Class of 2004 Valedictorian), who currently attends UC Berkeley. When I asked him what advice he could offer me, he said, “Go to class.” While at the time, I had not missed a class yet, I very quickly realized, (and took advantage of far too often) that teachers do not care if you show up to (or pass) their class. This is one of the most conspicuous differences between high school and college life. But despite this fact, there are some teachers who are simply better than others. To look before you leap, check out your teachers at www.ratemyprofessor.com before enrolling in a class. Next, study in groups. What has worked best for me has been taking notes in class, studying them alone, and then reinforcing those ideas through discussion with friends. When our last midterm came around, none of us received below a B. Lastly, take Honors courses. Although this may seem daunting, in reality, because of the level of intelligence in the class, you get less busy work, learn a whole lot more, and probably spend the same amount of energy as you would on the regular classes.
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