Richmond High Alum at Santa Clara University

Well now that I have lived through my first quarter at Santa Clara University, I can summarize these past 10 weeks as simply amazing. There were days when I was stressed over midterms, papers, finals, personal problems, but overall it has been great. It is difficult to adjust to living with other people and not having anyone constantly reminding you to do your homework and stay on track. For those that are still in high school, you should definitely try your best in high school and get the best grades possible because it will only get tougher in college.

Everyone should live on-campus if possible, you get to meet great people and have to full college experience. I live in a suite-style dorm where there are four sophomores and two freshmen. Each sophomore has a single while the freshmen share a double. Don't expect to get along with everyone that you live with, but this is just something else you will have to learn to deal with. Something I regret not doing is getting a tutor with some of my classes. I struggled with a couple of subjects and was able to get a decent grade on them, but this just showed me that from now on if I feel I am behind on a class I need to get a tutor. Midterms and finals ARE intimidating. If you are doing your homework and staying on track, the tests will not be that difficult. I feel like I spent too much time worrying about the midterms and finals when I really did not need to stress too much about them. STUDY STUDY STUDY. Join clubs that interest you, that way you get to meet other people besides those in your dorm or in your classes. I am part of MeCha and SHPE. MeCha is a club for Latinos, although anyone is welcomed to join. Since the majority of the population at SCU is American, it isn't that easy to meet other Latinos like me, but this club made it much easier for me. SHPE stands for Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. I am majoring in Civil Engineering, so joining clubs related to your major can be a huge help. This club updates us on internships and scholarship opportunities for engineers, and helps us create connections with other engineers. I got to meet upper class students, which can be to your advantage for whenever you need help on a class or need a book, since they already went through what we are going through.

I have met people that I can already tell will make a great impact in my life. I have learned to be a little more independent from my parents and I feel proud of myself for being in college and trying my best to graduate in four years. I absolutely love Santa Clara University. It might be a little too late for this year's seniors, but if anyone is interested in applying to SCU next year I would gladly tell them about my experience and about SCU. Overall, enjoy the college life. Party, but not too much. Don't let little things stress you out and make sure you are on track. Best wishes to all of you regardless of where you end up next year. :)