What I wish I'd known: Advice to new students

Those are just a few of the thousands of thoughts that may run through your head during new student orientation. 

New Student Orientation is certainly an exciting life transition, but can also be a scary one. It’s the next step in becoming an adult, becoming your own person. You get to experience sleeping in a dorm and eating in the Caf. You finally get to meet your roommate who you’ve been Facebook messaging up until now. There is such a build up of anticipation with all of the buzz and excited students posting in the Facebook group, all leading up to orientation weekend.

Luckily, we were once in your place. Students who have experienced (and survived) New Student Orientation offer advice on the weekend and their first year at Trevecca as a whole. 

“Everyone is on your team. No one has it out for you or wants to see you make a fool of yourself. Trust people!”
—Andrew Raney, senior, English education major 

“Talk to as many people as you can, but don't expect to be best friends with them. Your roommate probably won't be your best friend either.”
—Rachel Stoltz, junior, music education major 

“I wish I knew how many opportunities to get involved on campus there were, and I wish I knew about the different clubs and organizations to join at the time.”
—Joshua Wilburn, junior, speech communication education major

 “Just be yourself and everything else will work itself out.”
—Mark Smith, junior, religion major 

“The weekend might be overwhelming, and that’s OK! I would have loved to know that it’s OK to be overwhelmed a bit while processing all the information throughout the weekend.”
—Alyssa Landreth, sophomore, social justice major 

“I wish I knew classes could be easily changed so it is not a big deal to get it perfect when registering! I also wish I knew that we had to make our own schedule after the first semester… I probably would have paid more attention!”
—Taylor Cardiff, junior, music business major

“Don't be afraid to ask your adviser, your peer mentors and LINK leaders, and any other TNU faculty all the questions you have. They are here for you so take advantage and ask them about any and everything. Meet as many people as possible! By the end of orientation, I'd meet some people who, now two years later, are still some of the most important people in my life. If you see someone sitting alone, invite them to join you. You never know who you'll meet at orientation.”
—Brittany Earles, senior, psychology major

Be open to new experiences, ask as many questions as you can, get involved and have fun! Plus, you have Trevecca's Welcome Week to look forward to, which is designed bring new students in community with existing students. Take advantage of that! College is a great place to broaden your horizons and meet interesting people from all walks of life.