The First Year Experience

By Danny P. The first year of college can be an exciting time for many young men and women. The courses that most people take in their first two semesters are good introductions to the college atmosphere. There are lessons to be learned within the duration of those courses. Some of those valuable lessons include easy stuff like getting to know the campus and accessing grades online, or more complex life lessons like drug awareness and avoiding sexual abuse. Students can take the lessons learned in those courses for what they’re worth or they can blow it off completely. The GSC 100 course that I took during the first semester was helpful. It gave me an introduction to the Glenville campus and community. I was particularly surprised when the course instructor told the class how welcoming and caring the GSC staff is. When I first considered college, I had this crazy idea that college professors try to distance themselves from their students. Since GSC is a small campus professors are more likely to know most people by name and it can be beneficial and an advantage for students. It was shocking when I actually realized that many of my professors like me and actually know a little bit about me and my interests. I expected to be plummeted into a lot of harder material in my first year of college. My first semester was really a nice buffer that bridged the gap between high school and college. The content of those classes wasn’t too difficult to grasp and the professors were nice. This past semester (my second) has been a step up as far as the work goes. I recently selected a major and I don’t think I would have found this path if I hadn’t had a good introduction to college during the first semester.