Be A Success This Semester!

Welcome back to HVCC for those of you who are returning students, and welcome to all new students!

Congratulations to all high school graduates and our non-traditional students for taking yet another step towards fulfilling your life goals! On behalf of the Hudsonian, I would like to wish you all a successful start to the semester while providing you with a few tips.

Stay organized! The Student Activities office on the second floor of the Siek Campus Center knows the value of this advice and has already provided you with a table of free planners. Go grab one now! You’ll find all upcoming events listed in there as well as a list of important contacts, the Student Senate Constitution, a club listing if you missed the orientation issue of the Hudsonian, and a lot more!

Check your syllabus! When you get your syllabus for your classes, simply jot down all the tests and reading assignments on the day that they are due in your planner. Never miss credit for having forgotten something, that’s just silly! You won’t be able to prove that you were capable of completing the assignment. Never tell yourself you’ll remember something for sure! Most of us have incredibly busy lives in which we have to juggle several dozen different things a day. We forget things. It’s normal.

Also, ALWAYS do extra-credit as soon as possible (if you can)! It’ll give you a grade buffer, for when you forget assignments or when you did poorly on tests.

Visit your professor at least once this semester during his or her office hours. Don’t be shy to ask for help, when you need it. Office hours are for you to ask questions.

Try to avoid dropping a class if you can- it doesn’t look good to employers. They’ll think you couldn’t handle the coursework when in fact it may have been too easy or you found the professor hard to work with. If you feel that your class is too easy for you, talk to your adviser about it and ask if you can get bumped into a higher level class. Don’t be afraid to ask; it may help you avoid taking unnecessary courses. If your professor is a pain, stick to the program anyway. If you have a will to earn a good grade in the course, you will find a way to do it. Trust me.

You’re here to prove what your capable of. Your employers look at your grades to see that you’re trainable, so do well at everything you do. Overcoming difficult circumstances only further proves your ability to succeed in a different environment. If you talk to Sim Convington, the Assistant Director of the Center for Careers and Employment, he’ll say “it’s all about being flexible.”

Of course, not everything evolves around high scores on your report card. Everyone has their own talents and being involved in extra-curricular activities helps as well. Meet new and different people, as Larraine Ellis, the associate director of student development, would say. It broadens your perspective on the world.

Employers are continuously on the lookout for employees who are open-minded. They want to know that you can deal with people who might not necessarily think the way you do.

As for jobs, consider finding an on-campus job to save you on gas and time spent traveling. Keeping all of this advice in mind, remember to do your best. GOOD LUCK!