The Daily Lobo took to the streets and social media to ask for advice for first-year University of New Mexico students. This is what the community said first-years need to know to get started right.
“Trust your own pace and trust yourself,” Kaycee Stine, a sophomore majoring in theatre, said.
Although it can be cool to be part of clubs, starting the college experience is something completely unique and it is important to protect your peace and stress levels, she said.
Sophie Anderson-Haynie, a junior majoring in English-philosophy, emphasized the importance of exploring in college. She said it is unrealistic to expect first-year students to know exactly what they want to do.
“If I’m investing time and money and energy into this for four years I want to enjoy it and get a lot out of it,” Anderson-Haynie said.
College is a good time for stdents to figure out what they are interested in and take classes that are compelling to you, she said.
Volunteering and getting out in the community can lead to jobs and careers students might not have otherwise heard of, according to Anderson-Haynie. She has volunteered with As You Are New Mexico.
“I didn’t even know that victim advocacy was a potential career field that I could go into until I started doing this work in Albuquerque,” Anderson-Haynie said.
Antonio Tafoya, a longtime New Mexico resident, encouraged students to get out into their communities and explore.
“Go local with your markets and learn when annual events are happening so you get something more of an authentic experience,” Tafoya wrote.
Tafoya also provided advice for out-of-state students who might not know anyone in the area.
“New Mexico is an easy place to make new friends/acquaintances of different backgrounds and ages if you're willing to learn about the community and put yourself out there,” he wrote.
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Alice Edwards, a fourth-year student majoring in biology, said that monitoring emails and responding to them is important.
“Solve your problems — and the best way to do that is by communicating with the people who can help you,” Edwards said.
Resource centers, trusted teachers, friends and mentors can help, according to Edwards.
“Ask people for help, reach out; there’s people who know more than you and it’s basically everyone on this campus who’s not a freshman,” Edwards said. “Ask them, they’ll have answers.”
Stine said she wished that she had been told the importance of planning out the day. Doing so can “make more time for everything you want to do” in the day, she said.
“Making yourself a detailed itinerary, even though that can seem silly — it helps you conceptualize and visualize all the things you have time for,” Stine said.
Stine, who came to UNM from out of town, also said that taking care of the community she came in with while allowing them to care for her helped her during her first year.
“Trusting my gut on who was looking out for me and who wasn’t made a big difference in transitioning into such a new place for me,” Stine said.
Marcela Johnson is a beat reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at culture@dailylobo.com or on X @DailyLobo
Marcela Johnson is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo, and the editor-in-chief of Limina: UNM Nonfiction Review.
