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Hard work, social sacrifices key
to success in college, graduates say
By Derek Lippincott
Staff writer
They’ve been there. They’ve done that.
And after May 6, they’ll have a degree
that encapsulates the last several years of
their lives.
Inside and outside of the classroom,
they owned the title that, after graduation,
won’t be a part of them anymore. Until
graduation, they have been college stu
dents.
The years leading up to that day might
not have been a walk in the park. Senior
biology major Brad Copple said being suc
cessful in college involved certain sacri
i ices.
“If school is hard, you really have to
sacrifice your social life,” Copple said.
“You might not be able to go out on
Thursday so you can stay home and study.”
Making the most out of college aca
demics means knowing your priorities,
Copple said.
“There are a lot of distractions down
here,” Copple said. “You pay a lot of
money, and you’re down here for school.
You need to realize that, and you’ll be OK.”
Selecting the right classes, Copple said,
is key to making the most out of college.
“You have to take a lot of hard classes
that you may not want to take,” Copple
said. “You might want to take some fun
classes along with them also.”
Senior family and consumer science
education major Traci Lewandowski said
. she wished she would have selected her
classes and her major more wisely.
“I feel like I got trapped into my
major,” Lewandowski said. “I hated what I
was doing after my first year, but I had
already taken a lot of my core classes and
changing majors would have meant being
here for another two years.”
After student teaching last semester,
Lewanclowski said, she got a taste of the
real world, and it made her appreciate what
school is and how life is in college.
“Basically this is the easiest time of
your life,” Lewandowski said. “How many
other times can you not have class until
noon and only have class once a day? In
college, you really have a lot of free time
that you won’t have later on.”
Taking advantage of that free time is
important, Copple said, but balancing aca
demics and free time is a lesson many stu
dents learn as freshmen.
“My first year was such an overwhelm
ing experience and such a great one at the
same time,” Copple said.
“I don’t think anything will be able to
beat my freshman year. It was such a great
time, but it was also a lot of work. Make
sure you’re there to work hard and study,
but make sure you have fun and make
friends”
For some seniors, graduation is the first
step into their careers. After graduation,
Copple is moving to Chicago to attend
podiatry school.
“I think I made the most of my college
experience,” Copple said. “Looking back, I
wouldn’t change anything.”
For others, graduation represents
uncertainty.
“I don’t know what I want to do,”
Lewandowski said. “I’m walking out not
knowing what I want to do for the rest of
my life. I’m kind of clueless right now. I
guess I’m graduating because I have to.”
Regardless of their majors, their career
choices or their social lives, seniors will be
closing a chapter in their lives May 6.
