Sincerely, The Upperclassmen: Sierra Pipkin
Wait… what?!?! I don’t know about you guys, but my first few weeks of college were a whirlwind. What seemed like too much information was thrown at us all at once and it’s a little overwhelming. Starting college can be a scary and confusing time for freshmen. Advice from someone who has been here for a year or longer can be comforting and help freshmen to get settled in.
Sierra Pipkin is a junior here at Colorado Christian University. She has been here for her whole college career and is majoring in Psychology. She is on the Women’s ministry team and is a D-Group leader for a group of freshmen girls this semester.
I asked Sierra what she wished the freshmen would do this year. Her answer: “Pour into the community.” She said that the freshmen need to get out of the “CCU bubble” and get involved. This could be either finding a CCU group that goes out and works in the community, or finding a group completely separate from CCU and working with them. Whatever and wherever it may be, Sierra says students need to be involved in things outside of CCU.
My next question to Sierra was simply about general advice for new students. If you have been keeping up with this column so far, her answer will not come as a shock. She said, “Mental health is… more important than good grades.” Continuing, she said that without good mental and emotional health, you won’t be able to get good grades.
“Manage your time and set deadlines for yourself so you can do as much as possible, but don’t freak out when you don’t get it all done”
Our next topic of conversation was tips and tricks she wished she knew as a freshmen. Her response was that you can’t do everything, and you don’t have to. There is going to be a lot of papers, readings and other homework assignments, and there are going to be times when you can’t do everything and keep sane. Prioritize. Do the biggest assignment first, or the one that is due first. Manage your time and set deadlines for yourself so you can do as much as possible, but don’t freak out when you don’t get it all done. You don’t have to read every word in all of your textbooks. Learn to skim and pull the important information out.
Sierra also said, “If you don’t already get the breakfast bowl from the Den, you should.” Further, she mentioned that there are free days at the Zoo, Art Museum, and Museum of Nature and Science to take advantage of. On the topic of food and things to do on a college budget, she mentioned Wendy’s. “Get the 4 for $4, everyone can afford the 4 for $4.”
The last part of our conversation was about spending time outside the CCU requirements. Sierra said that students should “find something to be invested in.” Examples she gave were volunteering at nursing homes or at a church. Even finding a job and working outside of CCU, just getting involved. She also told me to “explore Colorado, it’s a beautiful place.”
So get out, explore, get involved in the community and get the breakfast bowl from the Den!
Sierra was just one of many interviews, there will be more to come. We will interview students from different majors and grades, both male and female, in order to compile the best advice we can for freshmen and new students.
