As we start off another year, new challenges and opportunities lie ahead of us. While NJIT is a small campus relative to other colleges, there are plenty of organizations to join and lots of things to do, in and around campus. My advice to you: get involved on campus and make yourself known to the NJIT community. Upon joining one of these organizations, you will meet many people that can help; you might even make lifelong friendships with them!
I was a freshman once too. Honestly, I wouldn’t have made the amazing friendships that I have now if I hadn’t joined a couple of organizations on campus. This is my fourth year as a MET student, and every year I still meet people that just go to class and kill time on the copious amounts of couches in the lounges throughout the campus; they wait for their next class, and then they go home. Nothing else.
Organizations on campus are always welcoming to new members. Approach them, even if you have no idea what the organization is about. Plus, what better way to figure yourself out than being active in an organization of your interest? You may even reveal a part of yourself that you never knew existed!
If you do join, you would have something productive to do with your time. Instead of being on your computer playing games or going on social media sites, you would have the opportunity to learn organizational and teamwork skills. You could improve your time management. You could even become a leader. These are important qualities that they don’t teach you in the classroom. If you have no prior work experience before college, this is your opportunity to create a foundation for it. Of course, if it’s not the right direction for you, there is no shame in letting it go and moving on with your life.
On the other hand, this is your stressful college life and you should make sure that you take breaks. Yes, I understand many of you have jobs and need to financially support yourself, but it’s good to have some fun once in a while. There are plenty of events on campus that happen practically every day. You should attend some when you get the chance; most of them are free for you to enjoy! You can find out when and where these events are by looking at the various bulletin boards in the campus center.
Take advantage of what this college offers you. Take a chance in something you never thought you’d be offered. Make the best of what you have. Many seniors and I agree upon this: your time in college will go by faster than you think. One minute you’re a freshman, trying to figure out where you fit in. The next thing you know, you’re starting your senior year realizing that you’ve been a part of something wonderful all along; you’re a Highlander of NJIT.
I hope you have had a great first week so far, and wish you many more memories to come along the way.
Welcome to NJIT!
By Leonard-Angelo Valenzuela, Editor-In-Chief
