As the hot summer days, loud dirt bikes, and open fire hydrants that become sanctuary to local neighborhood children come to a close, We the Panthers embark on a new journey that is meant to guarantee us well paying 9 to 5’s, or something like that. Panthers far and wide put down their cups and pick up their bags to start fresh with that 4.0 mindset that was definitely destroyed after that first technical run in with Brightspace.
I know that a new semester only calls for new stress and I wanted to hear how my fellow student body transitions from summer to fall semester. Within this article, I have an exclusive scoop on what it’s really like to be an Old Westbury student making the saddest transition any twenty- something-year-old has to make! I have gotten to transcribe the interviews of Seirrah Brown, Sierra Rowe, Ama Asare, and Ciara Green on their insight about the school and their transitions from summer to fall.
The Catalyst: “How has Old Westbury changed post COVID in terms of the student body and transition policies?”
Serriah Brown: “There’s not as many students, The CC [Campus Center] used to be packed full, a lot of people have broken off into groups because they aren’t friends anymore.”
Ciara Green- “Yeah, people just aren’t as friendly truly and honestly.”
The Catalyst: “How is the SGA work-life balance since the component of classes has been added into your routine?”
Serriah Brown: “During the summer I took two classes. But having four classes instead of two it’s really a lot… I don’t really stop during the day, I just keep going and going until it’s time for me to go to bed.”
The Catalyst: “Are stresses and anxieties regarding classes a normal part of the new semester and if so, how would one coop with that?”
Serriah Brown: “Yeah, I do think it’s a normal part of starting a new semester and to coop with it… well I don’t do anything, I don’t have time to sit and not do anything!”
The Catalyst: “Have you faced any challenges in transitioning from summer to fall in terms of academics?”
Sierra Rowe: “I mean yeah my mindset has to transition from not doing anything some days, doing what I want, waking up when I want to now have to wake up at a certain time to get ready for class.”
Ama Asare: “Basically going from vacation to school work is hard especially when you didn’t worry about it for two months.”
The Catalyst: “Do you think that SUNY Old Westbury can do anything different to help students transition from summer to fall quicker?”
Sierra Rowe: “You know how they have orientation for the freshman… They should do an orientation for the returning students each year so that you don’t feel like BAM you’re back to school. It’s a big transition, it’s not like it’s high school or middle school, it’s college.”
As seen, different students have unique ways of dealing with stress, workloads, and anxiety regarding the start of a new semester. A small sample of the student body have become representative to a lot of students in terms of opinions about starting a new school year.
So, SUNY Old Westbury community, I ask you how has your transition from summer to fall been?