Humber College students and faculty are giving advice to incoming first year students to make the college experience easier.
The first year of college can be a transition and adjustment year for many.
Aaron Reid, second and final year Humber North Media Communications student, said friends are an asset for college.
“Overall, it’s been overwhelming but friends made it easier,” Reid said.
Tyson Montenegro, a first year Humber North Culinary Management student, agreed with Reid on how friends can make the college experience much better.
“Try to make as much friends as possible because depending on who you come with to this campus, you could be alone most of the time,” Montenegro said.
“You got to make as much friends as possible so you have someone to rely on if you have work most of the time or just want someone to hang out,” he said.
“There’s a lot of people out here who started first year mostly alone and that happened to me when I started back in September so don’t worry, you’re not alone,” Montenegro said.
The Humber North and Lakeshore campuses offer volunteer peer mentors to help first-year students not feel alone, Jordan Reynolds told Humber News.
Reynolds is a senior peer mentor with Humber First Year Experience (FYE) and is a fourth and final year student in Commerce Accounting at Humber Lakeshore.
“I mentored in first year as well so I think it’s good to sign up as a first year student to receive a mentor,” he said.
A peer mentor can guide you, help you and encourage you to come out to more events, Reynolds said.
He said his job is to provide first year students with volunteer mentors for them to ask questions about resources on campus or any issues with classes, he said.
Reynolds works to provide students with what he wants as a student himself through a variety of events and activities.
Other students may get involved by applying at beginning of the semester as FYE programs are crucial in building friendships on campus, he said.
Reynolds mentored in his first year and advises newcomers to sign up as a first year student to receive a mentor for guidance, support, and encouragement to come to new events.
“Come out more to different programs and be more open to socializing with more people so you can build more connections, on campus, off campus,” Reynolds said.
Sandra Herber, Liaison Librarian for the Faculty of Media and Creative Arts and an Assessment Librarian for the Lakeshore campus, added some other resources that can be vital for students.
Herber has been at Humber for almost eight years and recommended the library spaces and services the campus offers to study collaboratively and on their own.
The library’s spaces are useful for students including printers, photocopiers, scanners, studios, and tools at the Idea Lab and resources at the Research Help Desks, Herber said.
“We also offer research help services. When students are working on assignments that require research, the library is here to help,” she said.
Studies have shown that students who utilize these resources are more likely to succeed, get better grades with research assistance and are more likely to complete their programs, Herber said.
“We’re here to help, just ask us,” she said.