Kathleen Crapson is a graduating senior part of NSU’s class of 2020. She earned her bachelor’s of art and design, with a concentration in graphic design and a minor in arts administration. For two years, she has been the Chief of Visual Design for The Current, NSU’s student-run newspaper while also moonlighting as the Head of Design for Campus Cursive NSU.
My perspective is a bit unique: after high school, I was part-time at Broward College for my associates degree before coming to NSU as a commuter student. My hope for this letter is to provide some insight for my fellow transfer and commuter students, and hopefully, for first-year residentials, too.
With three years under my belt at NSU, the best thing I can tell you is get out of your comfort zone. I spent my first year here as a commuter student with paralyzing social anxiety, so my experience was coming to classes and participating in minimal extracurriculars with little effort. But it wasn’t until I realized I could get paid for writing articles and designing the newspaper that I got out of my shell. The Current hired me, and because I started work during the summer, I had some time to cultivate friendships with staff in SUTV’s television program. Once my second year started, I found that I knew a few friendly faces on this small campus.
Jobs on campus are a great way to get out of your comfort zone and possibly meet other students with your passions and interests. Go onto your Sharklink account and find the “JobX” icon to search for available on-campus jobs.
Remember that social anxiety I mentioned earlier? Well, turns out what I thought was an anchovy of a problem was a huge angler fish with a flashing “light” headed in my direction (I apologize to all the marine bio majors out there, my experience with fish is limited to “Finding Nemo”). Since I had a support system and some great advice from my boss and coworkers around me, I mustered up the courage to go to Henderson Student Counseling Services on campus and get some help. I’ll forever be grateful to the friend who came with me to start his own journey towards better mental health.
Freshmen and incoming transfer students, take that first step. If you feel lost right now, don’t worry. I was there, too. Especially after graduating high school or if you’re just lost in this season and rhythm of life, muster up your faith and courage to go to that first club meeting, apply for that on-campus job or talk to that person who seems to be in every single one of your classes. Your journey is more than just going to classes, it’s also your life.
