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I will never forget the overwhelming feeling I had when I stepped onto campus on move-in day. There were so many people! All I could think about in my head was, “Be brave because this is the day that you have been preparing for and it will be ok!” From that day forward, I used this as my mantra. This served as my strength for what would be one of the most memorable experiences in my life. Below are just a few of the lessons that I learned along the way, but I think they are generalizable and applicable to anyone who is the first in their family to attend college, just as I was.

1. Chosen Family

One of the first concepts that I learned in my first semester was the idea of “chosen family.” The first time that I heard this term was at a meeting for mentors for first year students. It was described as building a network of people at the institution who won’t replace your family, but who will be committed to seeing you successfully navigate college. They will be bigger than just this though. They will serve as your socioemotional support system.

I left that meeting puzzled, but little did I know that I would build that network quite well. In my first year, I had a few friends, staff, and faculty who truly cared about me. They not only helped me navigate the college environment, but they also helped me to thrive! Each of these individuals served as a sounding board, an advocate, and someone who encouraged me to seek more out of my college experience. I attended conferences, went to lunch, and so much more with these folks. Because of these experiences, we are still connected to this day!

2. Take Healthy Risks

One day during my first year, I went to meet with my staff mentor and he said, “I have a job on campus that I would like for you to apply for.” It was a job working in our call center with our alumni office. I was nervous because it was the first student job that I was applying to in my college career. My mentor allowed me talk through my nervousness and in the end said that I should be fearless. I will never forget that day because I applied for the job to be caller. Based on my interview, I was hired to be a manager in my first year of school. It was surreal. From that day forth, I learned the lesson of just taking healthy risks in college. I never would have thought that it would have led to something larger. I was the manager for the call center for four years and I learned so much in the role. That said, do not be afraid to apply for an opportunity because you never know what could happen! 

3. Don’t Overload Your First Year

As I was sitting there with friends in the cafeteria, an upperclassman came to us (as we were all first year students) and introduced himself. We asked him what he was studying and he shared his double major, minor, and career interests. We then asked him what he was involved in and he raddled off another fairly large list. At that moment, I felt overwhelmed. He then shared a great piece of advice – do not feel like you have to be as involved as he was in your first year. He was a junior and he said it took time to get to where he was. He mentioned how he had seen a lot of first-year students take on too much in their first year in an effort to keep up with everyone else. They felt they needed to go to every student organization event, attend every concert on campus, or show up to every lecture done by a visiting professor. He suggested that we be strategic. Select a few opportunities that we would like to get involved in each year and then add a little something each year or take away something so that you are able to try something else.

In your first year, think about your interests and then make a few decisions on what you feel you would like to begin doing in your first year, knowing that you will have time to be part of several other opportunities during your college career. 

4. Trust Your Decision!

I know that the aforementioned are simple rules and applicable to anyone, but the last piece of advice that I have for you, is to trust in your decisions and make sure you take advantage of what Tufts has to offer. Your time in college will be filled with exciting opportunities and challenges, but know that you were selected to attend Tufts for a reason. That said, make sure that you take a course that you really like, attend the first year candle lighting ceremony, see one of the acapella groups, cheer on the Jumbos at a sporting event, and conduct research with a faculty member.

Congratulations on your acceptance! You are going to thrive here. Know that there are several other students, faculty, and staff who are also the first in their family to attend college here at Tufts and we are excited to assist you! It is now time to reflect on what you have done to get here and utilize those talents once you are here to make your mark on campus!

Go JUMBOS!