ST. BONAVENTURE (May 10) — Tap. Tap. Tap. Drumming her pencil against the one-armed desk, a frazzled freshman awaits her first class to end at St. Bonaventure University. Unsure of what classroom to go to next, she scurries by classes until she finds the right one.
That was Hannah Flanigan three years ago as a freshman journalism and mass communication major. Now a senior political science major, Flanigan quietly scribbles notes in a one-armed desk, knowing where she’ll be next.
“I’m more secure,” she said. “I know what I need to do to get through school. I’m not scared anymore.”
“As a freshman I was ridiculous,” said Chelsea Adams, senior political science major. “I was obnoxious, loud, I wanted to be of the center of attention … now I’m more mature.”
Both students agreed they’ve changed while in college, and so do professors.
“Students dramatically change in areas of maturity, confidence, growth in independence and they gain focus on the big picture instead of the small picture. They become better communicators. They take control of the drama,” said Nancy Casey, First-Year Experience program director at Bonaventure.
Casey said the drama freshmen experience involves problems with friends, juggling schoolwork with friends and living with a roommate.
Through her senior friends, freshman Abigail Reville said she has seen the difference between senior and freshmen attitude, especially in regards to friends.
“Probably as I mature, my goals will change. Seniors have a totally different mindset than we do,” said Reville, an education major. “They don’t get involved with friend drama and that’s just a concept we (freshmen) can’t grasp yet. We just can’t.”
Reville said friend drama involves fighting with friends after spending too much time with them.
“I’m just not used to this,” she said. “Always being around the same people can be hard.”
However, besides growing as a person, the greatest change for students occurred in the way their goals changed, said all of those interviewed.
According to Casey, those in professional schools such as education and journalism and mass communication have defined and rigorous goals, but freshmen still don’t know how to achieve them.
“University 101 and a lot of FYE opportunities help them to develop their goals,” she said.
Reville has two goals during college: graduate with a 3.25 GPA and obtain the three certificates available through the school of education.
Lauren Loftin, a political science major and law and society minor, has similar goals: pass her first-year courses, graduate in four years and make friends.
David Matz, women’s softball assistant coach, said: “Freshmen don’t know that they don’t know; sophomores don’t know that they know; juniors know that they don’t know; seniors know that they know.”
Matz said this progression shows the growing savviness of students as they journey through college.
“They become more knowledgeable,” he said. “They understand (college). They get it.”
Kevin Vogel, a lecturer of biology, said he noticed the physical changes the most, seeing the students change from young-looking college students to adults.
“They’re not kids anymore,” Vogel said.
However, Roger Keener, director of the Counseling Center who sees 100 to 110 students a year, said students don’t change as much as they could.
“We don’t have as many grad students here as at other schools,” Keener said. “The only students here really are in the range of 18 to 22 years old and they don’t get to have the same type of influence from older students.”
Keener said that because of this lack of diversity and variety of things to do some students can never expand past the “party zone” of simply drinking and going out every night or weekend.
“Sometimes they make bad decisions, more so in their younger years,” Matz said. “It takes a while to adjust to college life.”
Adams, an Army ROTC member who would be a platoon leader in the Army medical services, reflected on her own adjustment.
“Now, as a senior, I realize what I want,” she said. “I know that it’s good to go with the flow, to not stress about things if they don’t go as perfect as planned … I know what I want. I found a career.”.
No comments:
Post a Comment