As a second-year Nursing student here at Rutgers-Camden, I definitely know more than I did prior to starting my course of study and moving to campus. Before coming to campus, I had the opportunity to meet other members of the Nursing program and we formed friendships that have helped us stay focused and anchored during hard times. Most of my time was spent on campus since live in the dorms, which has been a really eye-opening experience for me as this is the first time I have lived by myself apart from my family.
Throughout my first year in the Nursing program, I came to understand my study habits more and more as I tried different techniques in order to stay on top of my school work and keep up my grades. On our campus, there is a the CLASS office that is dedicated to the students’ learning success. They offer one-on-one tutoring for specific courses like Anatomy and Physiology. The transition from high school teaching styles to this lecture style that is used in college took me some time to adjust to. This is why I feel that making use of the learning center is one of the main things that allowed me to manage the workload of my classes along with actually learning and understanding the material I was being taught.
However, I really enjoyed learning from the professors here because they truly do want us to excel. I found comfort during this second year knowing that my professors, even in my “Nursing Intensive” classes, are being taught by people who had very high accreditation and most of the time, doctorates in their fields. It is another thing that inspires me to see how my professors have pivoted in the field of nursing and how they have picked up so much experience working in different positions.
One of my favorite memories was in Biochemistry was when our professor would bring us munchkins from Dunkin because it was an 8 a.m. class. She went the extra mile for us by holding extra review sessions for exams which helped us manage the anxieties and stress we had with our tests. Finding outlets for stress is something that is extremely important, especially during your college years. Some of the things I do to help keep myself balanced are staying active with the Athletic and Fitness Center on campus, being in community with people in the nursing program, and the Christian Fellowship Club known as SHOP Intervarsity. I have found that just surrounding yourself with people who are journeying along with you, and those who can relate to you helps in keeping one’s self encouraged.
