Week 2 Helping Students Make the Transition to College

Once again the school work starts to get thrown down and you actually have to do something. This week in University Studies 311, we went through the chapter Helping Students Make the Transition to College.
When reading through Schlossberg's Transition Theory, many things came back to me from when I was once a freshmen here for the first few months. First S, Situation. I remember many situations that I couldn't control. Just in the first week of school, my dorm room didn't even have the internet because the ethernet ports were all broken. I had to go find some place in our building with a working ethernet port when I wanted to get any school work done. Second S, Self. When I first got here, I didn't know what kind of person I wanted to really be. So just being myself got me where I am today. If someone didnt like my values, outlook, or social status then that was their problem, but I managed to meet many new friends. Third S, Support. In the first month I thought I got myself into a real big mess where I didn't want to be. I didn't think I really wanted to go to school but I recieved plenty of support from my parents and just being in the Hixson Program really helped. Final S, Strategies. I recieved plenty of help for developing strategies to get through stress and different situations where I wasn't comfortable. Some strategies such as time management really helped me to get a hold of myself and plan things out.
When I read on through the chapter, I came across the section How is College Different from High School. Many things popped into my head. Before coming to this university, I thought just a few minor things were about to really change. Now I have a whole different perspective on the whole high school to college transition. Time management was a real big thing for me. In high school, I would usually have sports after school and then I would go to work on the farm right after. Even when I didn't have sports, I would get out of school early with a work pass and still work till late. I now have to fill in that time with homework and studying which is kind of hard for me. Despite all the challenges I faced in my first semester, I have enjoyed every bit of this new oppurtunity to further my education. With the experiences I have learned, I can now help new students get through their first semester here at Iowa State.
Being in the Hixson Program along with a first-year program in the agronomy department during my freshmen year, I made a successful transition into college. I developed relationships with many new friends and professors that can now help me through my years here.
The effect of a peer mentor can be very beneficial on student development. When I look back on the past, I was introduced to many new oppurtunities that I wouldn't have first got involved in without increasing my self-confidence to a new level through a peer mentor.