Krishna P.

For my blog, I interviewed a first-year student who works in our office names Krishna P. The first question I asked her was, "Did you go to orientation?" Followed by, "What was that experience like for you?" She proceeded to tell me that going to the resource fair she realized how enormous the school was. She saw that there was SO MUCH here, she joked and said, "They literally have their own country there." She goes on to talk about the resources that she learned were available and how she talked about this when she went back home.
Next I asked Krishna about what her first semester difficulties and lessons learned were. She said that she struggled with knowing where things were and making use of the learning centers, which she did not know how to utilize. She says that being in a huge university you need to be open to reaching out for help yourself. She says that making connections is also a huge thing that you need to do. You can do this using the offices on campus. Through the email accounts they help you to know what is going on. The OCSA (You know, the Off Campus Student Association) informs you every month or so to let commuters know what is going on on campus.
Next I asked her more about the resources that she knows of on campus. She first mentions the libraries and career services and all of the fairs that they had at the Busch Campus Center. She mentions going to the AMSA (American Medical Student Association) fair, where they displayed what they had to offer. She also utilizes the student center for eating or doing homework. They give you so many resources that as a commuter, she says she doesn't have to go home.
Krishna says that being a commuter isn't bad because she lives so close, she is part of AIMS (Achievements In Math and Science) which has a whole group of commuting students. She sees people who commute from very far and it inspires her to try harder because she lives so close. She says that it isn't as hard as she thought it would be because there is so much here that she doesn't have to go back home for.
Krishna has not had any trouble making friends thanks to AIMS because she joined it in high school. But even without it, in classes, you meet other people who are going through similar things as well.
Krishna is part of AMSA, AIMS, and FIMRC (Foundation in International Medical Relief for Children). She tries to be involved in other organizations but obviously as a new student with plenty on her plate she can't do everything!
After these months of her first year, Krishna says to incoming first-years to be ready and be acceptable. She also says to plan ahead. She came in with the confidence that she had to go out and achieve what she wanted to get. She said that she needs discipline to survive. She says to stay on top of your game and to do your readings, go to professors' office hours, and ask questions. Enjoy your office hours and make sure you know how to use WebReg.