As finals approach and seniors prepare for graduation, they discuss what their fellow classmates should know for the rest of their undergraduate years, and what they wish they would have known when completing their undergraduate degree.

John Burton, senior athletic training major, said he has had to teach himself a lot of the content in the past couple of semesters online, so students should prepare to teach themselves content, even though classes are starting to go in-person next semester.

“I’ve noticed that not a lot of teaching goes on,” he said. “We kind of have to teach ourselves everything.”

As I crawl to the end of my first year at college, I have noticed I have taught myself a lot of content within my classes, so I would not be surprised if I continued to do that in my next three years here.

Burton said he wished someone told him to finish out his last year strong before he went into the year.

“A lot of grad schools look at your last few semesters of classes as far as your GPA, not really your entire four years,” he said. “So just [finish] out strong.”

I believe that is a pretty good piece of advice. I am pretty sure we all felt the burnout this year, but making sure we keep our heads up throughout the years should help in the long run.

Kendra Cooper, senior athletic training major, said to enjoy every moment and not worry about due dates coming up.

“Really just try and enjoy each moment for what it is and find the best in each moment of each day,” she said. “It’ll be gone in the blink of an eye and then you’re going to miss that it happened.”

Cooper said she can say the same for incoming freshmen. She said to try not to worry about when the next football season or formal is going to be.

“Enjoy each day and take each day for what it is because the four years goes fast,” she said. “Before you know it, you’re graduating.”

I think this one hit harder since freshmen have been robbed of their first-year experience, so I think being able to keep this in mind will help get us through the next few years.

Cooper said she wished she knew how to strike a balance in her schoolwork and social life before coming to college.

“It’s easy to get caught up in grinding through schoolwork and all your obligations,” she said. “But it’s important to have a balance of things that make you happy in life and working hard at school.”

I have seen myself get too wrapped up in school, but I think I should take what Cooper has said into consideration and let myself live a little.

I have definitely missed out on a lot of the typical ‘first-year at college’ type of events, but I am looking forward to things opening up more in the next few years so I can experience a more normal college life.