A senior’s advice to new W&M students

Class of 2020 (and transfers), you did it—you’ve survived the hyper-exuberance of orientation and have completed the beloved tradition of convocation and being happily greeted with cheers and a seemingly unending line of high-fives by the upperclassmen: you’re now officially a William & Mary student. Congratulations.

Now, the hype is over and it’s time to crank open those textbooks, study, and live through the peaks and troughs a college life. As a senior, I look back and there are things that I’ve done well and things that I should have done more of.

These are all the lessons I can think of that I’ve learned since I’ve been here:

Purposefully meet other people

W&M attracts some very brilliant people, and there are always events going on around campus and in Williamsburg. Meet fellow students outside of your hall, it’ll give you a chance to learn and grow from someone who isn’t like you and who you most likely wouldn’t have met back home.

Mix up your study location

Sometimes, your one favorite spot to study will be taken. My advice is to have three or four study spots around campus. Changing a study location helps to retain more information because you’re making the connection between new information with a certain place, but that’s just me.

Leave Williamsburg, there’s a whole world out there, you’ll regret not doing it

This is something I regret not doing. Take advantage of The Reves Center, it has some great opportunities for W&M students to study abroad in most countries in every continent (minus Antarctica) with available scholarships. Don’t be filled with regret like me. Take advantage of this.

Get help sooner rather than later

Whether you might be struggling academically or emotionally, don’t think that you’re the only W&M student struggling with something – we all have a variety of issues both hidden and visible. If think something is wrong, help is available.

Carve time to be physically active

Try to find a time to be active besides just walking to class. I like either jogging or taking a fast-paced stroll through Duke of Gloucester Street in Colonial Williamsburg (CW for short). It’s healthy, and it helps clear the mind.

Manage your dining dollars (flex) wisely

One semester, I used up all my flex in one month on coffee alone (and yes, I do recognize that it might be an addiction). A good idea is to have enough dining dollars for Finals week in order to cut time eating either at the “Caf” or Sadler and eat at “Swemmromas” or have Dominos deliver pizza to your location in order to save time for acing those finals.

Take advantage of CW

I’ve actually met some seniors who have never walked through CW before. Don’t be like them. CW is super cool, and plus what other college town has colonial reenactors riding carriages through town?

Go to office hours, your teachers know a thing or two

I can’t tell you how helpful and valuable office hours can be, so don’t be scared of your professors—they want to help you succeed and pass their classes. If you’re struggling with a difficult concept or the professor’s lecture didn’t necessarily click, take advantage of your professor’s office hours sooner rather than later.

Don’t be shy of where you came from

You may either come from a different culture, a lower economic background, a dysfunctional upbringing, or even just have an odd or quirky personality, but regardless of the things that make you feel out of place, you belong here. This will be your home for the rest of your college career, and as the saying goes among us TWAMPs, “One Tribe, One Family.”