Students at Humber College are sharing important insights on how to manage first year experience.
The first year of college can be extremely tough to navigate due too many reasons. Three Humber students and one faculty member shared their advice on how to navigate the first year.
Sophie Gagnon, a second year student at Humber enrolled in the Fashion Arts and Business program, said her first year was online due to the COVID-19 pandemic and said that she would recommend joining committees.
“I would recommend to everyone to join a committee or look for the events around the school and just go and mingle as much as you can,” Gagnon said.
She said for doing that helped her make up for lost time.
Humber College offers so many opportunities for students to get involved and meet new people.
A program that is specifically designed for first year students is First Year Experience. FYE hosts events every week to help first year students meet new people and to learn important skills.
Gloria Lakor, a first year student at Humber enrolled in Urban Arboriculture, said that the advice she would give to first year students is to establish a balanced workload.
“Get to balance your workload, know yourself, and take breaks if you need them, mental or physical,” Lakor said.
Lakor said to take advantage of the many school resources that are available for you to use.
“Use as many school resources as possible, don’t let your resources go to waste,” Lakor said.
Alyson Fortowsky is an English Professor at Humber. The advice she would give is to form relationships with colleagues and professors.
“Form relationships as much as you can with your colleagues and with professors, it’s nerve racking when you first enter college, but those relationships can help you down the line,” she said.
Michael Vandenburg is a first year student enrolled in Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Technology. The advice that he would give is to do what you love.
“If you pursue something that you like, it’s not work,” Vandenburg said.
Vandenburg said that it is hard to go against what your parents want you to follow.
“There’s a whole idea that you must follow what your parents want you to follow, I’m the first person in my family to go into a trade,” he said.
Humber offers support to student through resources like the Student Wellness & Accessibility Centre which is available on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and is located on the second floor of the Learning Resource Centre at the North campus.