Hi! My name is Nicola Opfer and I am the GEAR UP First Year College Advisor for Nevada State College. I work with our high school students and get them ready for college. I actually graduated from Nevada State and I am all about our scorpion family.
I wanted to share some of my experiences into the transition from high school to college. Now, I wasn’t very involved in high school. I just tried to get grades and get out. I had teachers and counselors tell me college is so strict and instilling a fear in me. I was nervous a little when I got to campus.
Something that helped me though, was going to campus events. This is a time where you can meet professors, other staff members, and students. I was able to meet mentors, make friends, and join clubs and orgs. Meeting these people actually took me down a path to become the first ever two term serving student body president, I had the privilege of studying abroad, and making a difference on campus.
College is what you make it. You’re given an opportunity to really learn who you are and what you can be. You learn so much in and outside the classroom. It’s something that stays with you after you graduate and start your lives. College isn’t as scary as people make it. It is a change. You learn how to handle your classes and bigger course loads. You learn to go to office hours for your professors and to go to the advising. There are so many resources, like GEAR UP, that help you to be successful as a student. College helps you discover things about yourself that you didn’t know were there.
So don’t be afraid to jump in!
