BY CORIE LYNN<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Students graduating this spring will receive degrees certifying that they know more about their chosen fields than when they first arrived at FHSU.
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Though this applies to academics, students also learned outside the classroom during their collegiate careers. Their time in college has given them practical knowledge ranging from how to manage their time to how to create a successful work environment.
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Looking back on their first year on campus, graduates reflect on what they wish they had known as they entered Fort Hays.
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\u201cI think I would\u2019ve benefited more with just knowing how to manage my time as well as healthy study habits,\u201d Bryson Homman said.
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Homman, who is receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design, saw the way his own procrastination frustrated him when he first began his studies.
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As this year\u2019s freshmen begin their studies, he suggests they also get involved in campus organizations where they will find their own friend groups.
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\u201cMake sure that you are taking time for yourself as well as making those bonds and memories with your friends during the years that you are in undergrad,\u201d Homman said.
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Olivia Zhang from Sias University in Xinzheng, China, is receiving her Master of Professional Studies in Organizational Leadership.
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She wishes she had known about the environmental differences before arriving on campus in America, regretting that she had not brought the right clothing for Kansas\u2019s winters and summers.
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In addition, she wished had brought more of her hometown food.
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\u201cFirst, just bring more summer and winter clothes and sunglasses,\u201d Zhang said. \u201cAnd for food, they would definitely miss their hometown food or something.\u201d
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She also found that the learning environment is different from that of China.
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When Zhang attended Sias, students were not allowed to speak in class and connected with their professors through social media like WeChat. Now, she utilizes email and sits through classes that feel far more relaxed.
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\u201cIf you have any questions [in China], ask them maybe after class or something,\u201d she says. \u201cDon\u2019t challenge your professor. That\u2019s not respectful. But here, people ask questions in time.\u201d
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Zhang wishes she had also known more about FHSU\u2019s websites, like Blackboard, as international students such as her are not used to learning through such an online format.
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\u201cBut I think it\u2019s getting better because the new students, they said they know,\u201d she said. \u201cThey know TigerLink very well, but when I came, I didn\u2019t know.\u201d
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Many students also learn that their college experience will include highs and lows. Anthony Ventura, a pre-med major, learned this firsthand.
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\u201cOne thing that I wish I had known is that college is one step forward, two steps backward and three steps forward,\u201d he said.
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Ventura found he could counter these highs and lows by creating an environment that leads to success. He refers to it as a blueprint method where he considers what other people have done to be successful.
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\u201cYou have to look at the things that are not working, and you have to look at the things that are working,\u201d Ventura said. \u201cAnd you have to look at it in a blueprint perspective.\u201d
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He reminded students that their advisors will not have all of the answers and it is up to them to be successful. Part of this personal responsibility comes from utilizing tools, like email, and communicating early in their college careers to get a head start.
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Ventura also encourages students to start going out of their comfort zone now, to not be afraid of what others think and to be helpful to those around them. He believes that actions always come back. You have to be careful what you put into the world.
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\u201cKindness and love are the most wonderful things you can spread out from your environment,\u201d Ventura said.
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