Every year freshmen at Quincy University take on the challenging task of becoming a functioning college student and in an attempt to help, the university has introduced a new course. Moving away from home, living on your own and managing a busy schedule for your first time can be overwhelming even for a prepared student. This year to help ease the transition Quincy brought in a new class to help ease the transition, a First Year Experience class, also known as FYE.

The FYE class covers a wide range of topics to help freshmen. Things like how to take good notes, how to send professional emails, time management and many other things are some of the criteria that make up the class. But there is more to college life than just being a good student. One of the many FYE professors is Barb Rowland.

“That’s one thing that we are providing for the freshmen in the class is constantly reminding them of all the activities that are going on on campus, and we are encouraging them to participate,” Rowland said. “Don’t stay in your room, don’t isolate yourself, get out, get involved. There are plenty of people here who would like to pull you into their group or their organization.”

One freshman, Auderina Johansen, was braced for the impact of first year college life living away from home, but instead found something a lot closer to comfort.

“It’s definitely better than I thought it would be,” Johansen said. “I thought I’d be super scared, and I was really nervous actually because I’ve never been away from home. But the campus is super nice, and the people are really sweet, so I think I’m adjusting well. It feels more like home than I thought it would.”

For students who have been attending college a lot longer, their advice is a lot simpler, don’t stay boxed in. Senior Alexa Valdez said one of the more important things she learned along the way was to branch out further than your team.

“Finding friends outside your team, I feel like that’s super helpful,” Valdez said, “because it gets you involved in activities that other teams might be doing or participating in, and I feel like it gets you out there more.”

Between a close-knit campus full of faculty who want to help, a new FYE class and upperclassmen more than willing to give advice Quincy University’s upcoming freshman classes have more help than they have ever had before. But the choice to show up and put in the work still falls on the individual students at the end of the day.

Adjusting to life on campus is never easy for anyone, freshmen, transfers and upperclassmen. Success coaches can be found in the SSC. They can help find resources to help with grades as well as personal business.