5 ways to Succeed in Your First Semester as a CofO bobcat

With acceptance letters out for the fall, it is important to start thinking about what to expect when starting your first semester of CofO. Starting college is an exciting, yet a stressful experience. However, the first semester of Hard Work U is often the most important. It is where you find your people, build community and figure out what your strengths and weaknesses are. This article will highlight some tips for incoming students, new students, or anyone that may not have their rhythm

figured out yet.

Students posing in front of chalkwork project in base camp class Summer 2023.

Build a strong community

One of the 5 pillars of CofO is cultural and that comes with community. CofO has a wide variety of events and classes that focus on building community including Character Camp, Base Camp, Welcome Week Events, and Summer Work kicking off events. However, it is important to remember the tips to keep relationships healthy.

• Iron Sharpens Iron: Proverbs 27:17 says, "Iron Sharpens Iron, so one person sharpens another." This can be used for good and bad.

• Try not to let drama get in the way: The most sisterly advice I have is to communicate all your feelings. it is better to be over-communicative than under-communicative because that's how friendships end or drama is caused.

• Attend campus events: There are many campus events such as Mudfest, Spring Formal and mini tournaments.

Get involved at an off campus church!

The biggest thing I can stress when first coming to college is get involved in a local church. Now that chapel doesn't happen on Sundays, it is crucial to find a place to go every Sunday. some well known churches from CofO students include:

• FBC Branson: A larger Baptist church with three services. There is a college ministry during the 9:30 service and many other life groups and opportunities to get involved. I attend this church.

• Woodland Hills Family Church: A nondenominal church that also has many groups for all ages including woodland hills young adults on Wednesday nights.

• Harvest Evangelical Church: Quite a bit smaller from the two other options but a nice Evangelical church in Branson that a lot of CofO students also attend.

Build Relationships with Professors

Your professors are there to teach you, but they care more than you might think. Staff and faculty are there for you to make sure you succeed in your college journey. some ways you can do so include:

• Ask questions: if you don't understand the lecture, it is better to ask questions than go throughout the semester confused.

• Take advantage of office hours: if you don't want to ask questions in class, go to professors office hours. They want to serve you and have set office hours for a reason.

  
  

Take care of Your Mental Health

College can be stressful. It is important to take care of your mental health throughout the semester.

• Set a healthy sleep schedule: Lack of sleep is one of the biggest triggers for anxiety and depression. having a time to go to sleep every night and sticking to it can change everything.

• Try to incorporate daily exercise: Physical activity is known as a huge stress reliever. even a 15-minute paced walk can change your whole day.

• Take advantage of campus resources: The campus has many valuable resources including the counseling center where you can attend walk-in sessions specific hours of the week or make an appointment.

Set your priorities straight

It is important to use keep priorities straight as navigating you are figuring out your rhythm of the college. The list that helped me through school was

• Christ (1) - He should be the first thing in your life at all times

• Work/school (2) - Work and school are the main reason we go to CofO. It is important we prioritize it.

• Social life/Relationships (3) - Christ, School and work should be our first priorities since that is the reason we are at college. If we are pouring into these well, it is easy to start pouring into relationships.

Conclusion

The first semester is often the best and most confusing at the same time. You're going to be re-learning how to balance life out and it can be scary but exciting at the same time. But it is important to know that getting plugged in, finding community, and using resources and make the first semester of college so much simpler.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at 287343@student.cofo.edu or fill out my contact form!

What are some blog topics you would like to read about next?

• Campus Resources everyone should know
• Living biblically
• My journey becoming a bobcat
• Other - email me