By: Hannah Kettner

Hello Future Titans! My name is Hannah, and I am finishing my sophomore year here at UW-Oshkosh and will begin my junior year in the fall. I am currently undeclared and am still exploring tons of classes we offer here, but I am considering becoming a communication studies major with a political science minor! My hometown is Oshkosh, my main career goal is to be able to help others in any position I am working in, and a fun fact about me is that I own a 1977 Mercury Marquis Brougham. Starting college is a new journey for every student and is vastly different from high school. With that, I want to share my experience as a first-year student so that some of you will benefit from the information I learned and was not aware of prior to the start of my college career.  

Prior to beginning my first year, I was extremely worried and anxious about college. However, all my family members and mentors kept telling me how many people I would meet, how exciting picking my own schedule would be, and how many amazing connections I would make, and it turns out they were right! Your college classes are going to be personally selected by you, with the help of your academic advisor and your schedule is going to depend on your own preferences. I was able to manage taking five to six classes a semester, while working a part-time job off campus, and still being able to spend time with my family and friends. My best advice to you is to continually explore classes and always try to meet new people! Even though you may already have a declared major, exploring classes may allow you to find a minor you may want to pursue, or a different major you may want to change to. Student organizations and clubs are also an awesome way to become involved in the Titan community and meet new people who have the same interests as you!

You are going to meet so many new people in college and some of them will become lifelong friends, so take advantage of every opportunity you can to talk to people and create relationships! Since my hometown is Oshkosh, I did not live in the residence halls on campus, but off campus instead. This is an option for those students who live within a 45-mile radius of our Oshkosh campus. However, even being a commuter, I was easily able to connect with different students and become involved in the family we have here. I never had a class my first year that I did not enjoy at least some aspects of the course. Every professor teaches very differently but once you figure out how you learn well in a classroom, you will learn how to study and prepare for the course. There are many different options for classes, sports, campus jobs, events, and clubs that you will never be bored on campus because there are so many opportunities to pursue.