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“There are so many distractions in college,” Peterson said. “Having your friends around all the time, it’s hard to get to your schoolwork.”

He was also surprised by the importance of the exams in his courses.

“You don’t have 10 different tests over a given period in the school year,” he said. “Each test is worth much more and you have to put more focus into a single test.”

Being in cross-country has helped Peterson by giving him a routine each day.

“It helps to have structure,” he said. “If you have too much free time, you tend to stray from what’s really important and you tend to procrastinate more.”

Peterson left old friends behind, and he says that although it’s a struggle, he makes sure to get out of his dorm every day.

“You have to be an extrovert and put yourself out there so you can meet new friends,” he said, “and that’s hard.”

Fellow first-year Lisa Radintz made it through the transition from high school more easily, and she expects her involvement in student organizations will help her meet new people and become active in the campus community.

“I want to feel comfortable where I go to school, as well as learn as much as I can about different people,” Radintz said. “I also want to learn more about the community I’m living in.”

Like Peterson, Radintz expected she’d be spending more time on her classes and have less down time.

Kyle Parr, another first-year, has enjoyed getting to know people outside of his group of friends.

“First I was disappointed, because I came from an environment where I knew everyone really well and they had similar interests, but now I’m not disappointed, because I like having all these friends with different viewpoints,” he said.

“Like when I first met a Republican, I really freaked out. And now I’m friends with said Republican.”

To deal with the new responsibilities and time management needed in order make all of his commitments, Parr looked toward a resource that was once foreign to him.

“I never, ever, ever used a planner before now, and now I have to, or else I’ll go crazy.”

Once again, for the first time

While first-years have been introducing themselves to campus, returning second-years are busyreorienting themselves to classes and finding focus.

Sophomore Jake Tovsen looked forward to the start of this year and getting back to see the friends he made the previous year.

“I was looking forward to coming back because I knew what it was like and I knew the people here,” he said. “And having gone through one year, I knew it wouldn’t be much different to do it again.”
Academically, however, Tovsen has made some changes.

“I sleep through a lot of classes, because I realized that professors make it way too easy to miss class.”
He believes that the web-based resources professors provide make it easier to skip class. However, he has also made more of an effort to keep his academic standing.

“Last year I let a couple assignments here and there just kind of fly by,” he said, “but this year I’m making more of an effort to do everything. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that every point counts.”

Tovsen’s roommate, sophomore Aaron Smith, also found that missing class is easier than making it. He has also found ways to lighten the workload.

“I knew what to expect so I knew how to get by, so now I skim the reading instead of reading it,” Smith said. “But then I get stuck the night before the test rereading everything.”

Smith is enjoying this semester. “I don’t get much done,” he said, “but I sure am good at computer solitare.”

Matt Thiede, another sophomore, has found focus this year, but he occasionally struggles with commitments.

Thiede hasn’t found that involvement in co-curricular activities has hindered his academics, and is thankful for friendships that have transpired as a result, but he did say he makes sure to commit wisely.

“I’m checking my commitment to things, being realistic with the time that I have to give and how much I need for myself,” he said. “I’m still trying to do too much, but I think all of us are, especially with the small campus mentality, we all want to do so much. I have trouble saying no.”

Fellow sophomore Sarah Atwood also found time management to be the most difficult aspect of her first semester back at school.

“It’s not just finding a balance between all of my commitments, but knowing when to put school aside and take some time out for me,” she said.

Atwood is making an effort this year to ensure she doesn’t spread herself too thin and to find time for
herself.

“It is too easy to fall into the trap thinking that you need to be out and about, doing things, meeting people. You think that if you aren’t using every minute to its maximum potential, you are missing out on something. Well, I found out through experience that I wasn’t. Nonetheless, if I were a first-year, I’d do it all over again.”

Help from above

Tovsen found he is making more of an effort to get involved on campus.

“I think I’m much more open to new people ever than last year because you understand especially where a lot of the first-years are coming from. You want to create a more welcome environment.”

These efforts haven’t gone unnoticed to first-years. For Radintz, it was a surprise that sophomores and upperclassmen worked so hard to help her fit in.

“The biggest surprise for me is how comfortable the upperclassmen have made me feel,” she said. “I had a high-school mentality that they would be superior and act superior and that I wouldn’t be able to fit in.
They actually made it really easy to transition and help me get involved and are willing to teach me different ideas and skills.”

Tell us your story of success or failure by e-mailing us at oracle@gw.hamline.edu or posting your comments on this article online beginning next Tuesday at www.hamline.edu/oracle.