Hey everyone!
Being in college is stressful for anyone who is. It is even worse if you don't have anyone behind you helping you succeed. Today I am going to be talking about the different supports I use to help me be successful in college.
Over the course of four years, I have attended two different colleges: a junior college and a university. The support resources for students are both very similar between the two but also very different.
Northeastern (NJC) is a small two-year college in Sterling, Colorado. There was under 1000 full-time students when I was there. While there I had services from the transition specialist, the school counselor, tutoring services, and other staff located on campus.
I am currently at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) in Greeley, Colorado. UNC is much bigger than Northeastern was, but not bigger than the other large schools in Colorado. Being at a much larger school makes it more difficult to navigate finding resources. At UNC, I have received support from the Disability Resource Center, the counseling center, the Student Health Center, Student Outreach and Support, tutorial services, and my supervisors for my current on-campus jobs.
The transition specialist at NJC and the Disability Resource Center at UNC both have the same type of function. They help provide support for students with disabilities on campus. This is how I get my accommodations for classes, etc. Some of the accommodations I received from both schools was extended testing time and alternate testing location. These accommodations help me focus more on my exams and quizzes as it is hard for me to occasionally finish tests in the time that the rest of my class would typically get and I do not like having distractions from the classroom while I am testing. At UNC, being that it is a much bigger school, I receive a few more accommodations than I did while I was at NJC. I not only receive testing accommodations, but I also receive options to have a peer note-taker or a note taking software, early registration (so I don't panic when it comes to registering for classes), occasional breaks from the classroom (mainly if I am having severe migraines to where I cannot focus), and I meet with an access coordinator every other week to help me stay on top of my assignments and busy schedule.
Counseling has been provided at both schools I attended. NJC had one counselor for the whole student body being that it was a tiny school. UNC has a whole counseling center with several providers that assist the whole student body. This is a VERY useful resource for me for several reasons. I have struggled with depression and a mood disorder for about 5 years and therapy really helps me cope with struggles of college, personal struggles, and just daily life. It also has helped me understand my emotions better and how to deal with them properly. I go see my psychologist about every 1-2 weeks depending on how things are going. I will probably talk more about mental health in a post later on.
Not only is social life hard, but academics (being that is what college is there for) can be very difficult to handle. Tutoring services are very useful when it comes to getting assistance on a difficult assignment. When I was at NJC, I used their tutorial services A LOT. Their services were 100% free to student when I was there. There were tutors for almost every subject: Math, Science, English and Writing, you name it! This was very helpful for me, especially when I was taking General College Biology and retaking College Algebra (that's a long story). It was also useful when I needed help with writing papers. I know that's hard to imagine seeing as I am writing a blog, but writing research papers is a whole different ballgame! UNC also has tutorial services. They are harder to access and I found that the focus and attention I got was way less than at NJC (perks of a small two-year college). UNC also only has tutoring for certain subjects, which is hard if a student is really struggling in a class that doesn't have tutoring.
Lastly, I will be talking about support other staff, faculty, and my job supervisors on campus. For almost all of my on-campus jobs between the two schools, I have lucked out on supervisors (the only exception was when I was a resident assistant).
At NJC, I was a work study for residence life during my sophomore year. Unfortunately, during my first semester that year, I had to leave due to some medical issues, but my supervisor saved my position until I came back, along with my dorm room. I thought that was really cool! When I came back, I had a ton of support and they even helped me with a mock interview for when I was looking at the RA position at UNC! It was very helpful. Other people at NJC that were helpful were my counselor (I still email her and tell her how I am doing occasionally) and the career coach. The career coach at NJC recently wrote me a letter of recommendation for my graduate school application. Having these resources don't just exist while your a student, they last even after you leave school!
At UNC, my supervisors this year are wonderful. On Student Senate, I have so much support. One night that we had a meeting, I had a rough day and they told me to go home and recuperate because mental health is just as important as physical well-being. With the GOAL program, if any peer mentor needs to step away due to personal circumstances, they can. I think those are all very important things to have in place so students can be students and people first!
So that's my spill on campus resources and how they are useful to anyone in college! Please feel free to leave comments in the comment section! I am always happy to receive input and support!
I hope you all had some happy holiday celebrations!
Caitlin.
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