{"id":285,"date":"2018-01-10T20:04:15","date_gmt":"2018-01-10T20:04:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/academic-news\/?p=285"},"modified":"2018-01-18T13:41:49","modified_gmt":"2018-01-18T13:41:49","slug":"young-alumni-share-how-they-faced-college-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/academic-news\/2018\/01\/10\/young-alumni-share-how-they-faced-college-challenges\/","title":{"rendered":"Young Alumni Share How They Faced Transition to College"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_286\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-286\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-286 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/academic-news\/files\/2018\/01\/college-panel-juniors-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/academic-news\/files\/2018\/01\/college-panel-juniors-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/academic-news\/files\/2018\/01\/college-panel-juniors-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/academic-news\/files\/2018\/01\/college-panel-juniors-250x167.jpg 250w, https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/academic-news\/files\/2018\/01\/college-panel-juniors.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-286\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Young alumni Julia Valine &#8217;15, Ava McElhone Yates &#8217;17, Hannah King &#8217;15, and Cody Cavanaugh &#8217;16 speak to students.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Ten young alumni returned to the Williston Northampton School campus this week to talk with juniors and seniors about the upcoming transition to college. They explained how they made crucial decisions, such as how many schools to visit, and which ones to apply to,\u00a0as well as how to prepare for the all-important interview and compose the perfect essay. As the panel progressed, they discussed the importance of making sure they\u00a0have time to socialize and connect while managing a slate of demanding classes and saying \u201cyes\u201d to signing up for that intriguing class outside their major that may take them down an unexpected career path.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The following alumni spoke to seniors in the Phillips Stevens Chapel:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Maddy Stern \u201914 (Harvard Universtiy)<\/li>\n<li>Bina Sweet \u201917 (University of Massachusetts, Amherst)<\/li>\n<li>Maddy Scott \u201916 (Westfield University)<\/li>\n<li>Abbie Foster \u201916 (Boston University)<\/li>\n<li>Nate Gordon \u201916 (Kenyon College)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And these alumni spoke to juniors in the Williston Theatre:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cameron Ward \u201917\u00a0(Roger Williams University)<\/li>\n<li>Ava McElhone Yates \u201917\u00a0(Vassar College)<\/li>\n<li>Julia Valine \u201915\u00a0(Saint Anselm College)<\/li>\n<li>Hannah King \u201915\u00a0(Connecticut College)<\/li>\n<li>Cody Cavanaugh \u201916 (Wheaton College)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Kate Garrity led the discussion with juniors. She asked the panel what they would do differently in their junior year, if they could do it all over again. Julia Valine said has an interest in occupational therapy and that she wishes she\u00a0had shadowed more people in that field during high school. She\u2019s applying to graduate schools now in that discipline.<\/p>\n<p>Ava Yates advised students visiting schools to reflect on and write down what they liked or didn\u2019t like about\u00a0a college after each visit. \u201cSchools can tend to blend together\u201d if you don\u2019t take a moment to distinguish them, she said.<\/p>\n<p>As for college interviews, Cody Cavanaugh reminded students to remember that the interviewers are just people, and not to get too caught up in worrying about it. &#8220;Trust yourself,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_289\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-289\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-289 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/academic-news\/files\/2018\/01\/college-panel-1-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/academic-news\/files\/2018\/01\/college-panel-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/academic-news\/files\/2018\/01\/college-panel-1-250x188.jpg 250w, https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/academic-news\/files\/2018\/01\/college-panel-1.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-289\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maddy Stern &#8217;14, Bina Sweet &#8217;17, Maddy Scott &#8217;16, Abbie Foster &#8217;16, and Nate Gordon &#8217;16 discuss college.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Once in college, and faced with\u00a0new challenges\u2014large classes, less structure,\u00a0distant from former sources of comfort like family\u2014adapting can be a big change, alumni acknowledged. But they advised students to take it in stride. \u201cHave faith that you will figure it out,\u201d said Maddy Stern. \u201cBe patient with yourself during the transition,\u00a0and know that you\u2019ll get to place where it works for you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe biggest adjustment at first was lecture classes,\u201d she continued. \u201cYou go from a school of 500 or so people to a survey class with 700 people. You have to figure out the best way to learn in new environment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Abbie Foster agreed and added a practical suggestion. \u201cI realized it was best for me to sit in the second row. That way I was close enough to feel like I could see the professor and be engaged, like at Williston, but not too, too close.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In deciding which classes to take, alumni advised students to keep an open mind. \u201cDon\u2019t be afraid to take that random course that intrigues you,\u201d said Stern. \u201cI took Intro to Archeological Methods\u2014even though I\u2019m never going to be an archaeologist\u2014and it was fascinating. If something looks interesting, go for it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bina Sweet echoed that suggestion. \u201cHave an open mind and don\u2019t cut off options. I was dead set on being pre-med, but realized I was better\u00a0set for pre-law. I would never have thought that\u00a0during my senior year [of high school].\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Outside of class, the panels agreed that making friends and connecting with the community helps with adjustment. \u201cRemember when you first get to college that everyone knows no one,\u201d said Nate Gordon. \u201cEveryone is trying to make friends.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maddy Scott pointed out another good reason to get out there to meet people: \u201cClubs and activities help you structure your day,\u201d at a time when you may have more freedom than you&#8217;re used to, she said.<\/p>\n<p>Gordon advised students to see the bigger picture. \u201cCollege is about figuring out what you want to do, what path you want to take. There are so many options. How can I structure my time? My day? What friends do I want to have? What really interests me?\u201d he said. \u201cBe patient. You\u2019ll figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And as the panel wrapped up, Gordon reminded students that they\u2019re not in college yet. \u201cMy advice is to try and really enjoy <em>this<\/em> time,\u201d he said. \u201cReally focus on what you\u2019re doing now and love at Williston, whether that\u2019s a sport, or working on the paper, or being in the play.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ten young alumni returned to the Williston Northampton School campus this week to talk with juniors and seniors about the upcoming transition to college. They explained how they made crucial decisions, such as how many schools to visit, and which ones to apply to,\u00a0as well as how to prepare for the all-important interview and compose &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/academic-news\/2018\/01\/10\/young-alumni-share-how-they-faced-college-challenges\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Young Alumni Share How They Faced Transition to College<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":111,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alumni-speaker","category-college-panel"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/academic-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/academic-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/academic-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/academic-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/111"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/academic-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=285"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/academic-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":300,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/academic-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285\/revisions\/300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/academic-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/academic-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/academic-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}