This month, we will hear from Joy Cooper, the First Year College Advisor at Nevada State University. She will tell us what her “Top 5 Goals You are Working on This Year and Why.”
Happy New Year, everyone! It is hard to believe we’ve already bid farewell to 2025 and we’re ushering in 2026. January is one of my favorite months. It feels like new beginnings and an opportunity for reinvention (it’s also my birthday month. Shout out to my fellow January babies!). Now is a wonderful time to start looking toward to future and working on goal setting for the year. I know I am planning to work with my current first years on SMART goal setting and vision board planning. It’s only fair I do a little goal setting work of my own. Without further ado, here are my top 5 goals for 2026:
- Finding Balance – It can be a juggling act trying to work full time, raise a child, foster relationships with loved ones and friends, running errands and attending to chores, and practicing self-care. It doesn’t feel like there are enough hours in the day, so sometimes focusing on my own needs can take the backseat. This year, I am going to be more intentional with my time to ensure my own needs are being met. Afterall, I cannot be what others need me to be if I’m not taken care of too. That means making sure I’m learning to say no, learning to scale back, and finding ways to meet my needs without feeling like it must be all or nothing. My current self-care obsession? Watching tv while cycling after my son goes to sleep.
- More Interactive College Corners – College Corners are such a fantastic opportunity for students to learn more about their college options in Nevada, but sometimes the delivery can get so bogged down with information overload that it can be overwhelming. This semester, I’ll be incorporating more fun games into my College Corners to make the experience fun and informative.
- More First Year Events – Even if they are small drop-in style events, I’m working to host at least two different events for the NSU first years this spring. Working one-on-one with students for their academic needs is great, but I want to make sure they are also receiving informative, workshop style events that get more in-depth, so they are better prepared once they move on to sophomore year.
- Fostering GEAR UP Student Relationships – One of the most rewarding things about my time in this position has been seeing the amount of past GEAR UP students who still drop by my office or volunteer to support NSU at GEAR UP events. It really shows how impactful our program has been in their lives. I love it when the past students attend events and hang out with the first years. I’ve seen some wonderful friendships form and I hope to continue this in the future. It’s so important to me that the students have a supportive community to rely on even when their time as a first year GEAR UP student ends.
- Travel More – I’ve been saying for years now that I am going to put an emphasis on traveling more, but this year I’m putting it into practice. I’ve got a few trips lined up already, including a birthday weekend in Park City, a weekend wedding in Tulsa, and a belated Christmas/birthday trip to New York to watch my favorite hockey team play at their home arena (let’s go, Islanders!) courtesy of my partner.
You certainly don’t need to wait for January to start setting goals or making new plans, but it’s a great excuse! Let’s get out there and get after it!
