Purdue HHS student mentors share sage advice for incoming students

Written By: Rebecca Hoffa, rhoffa@purdue.edu

As summer ends and a renewed energy arrives on campus with the start of a new academic year, a new class of Purdue University College of Health and Human Sciences (HHS) students are familiarizing themselves with campus. With personal experience plus training focused on preparing incoming HHS students to find their fit at Purdue, students in the HHS Success Mentors program have prepared their best advice for starting the year off right.

Be inquisitive

Toby DeLaney(Photo provided)

Name: Toby DeLaney

Year: Sophomore

Major: Biomedical health sciences, pre-medicine concentration

Recommended Resources: Teaching assistants and professors

What is your advice for succeeding at Purdue?

Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone, whether that’s joining a club, taking on a leadership role or being vocal in the classroom. Being able to ask questions in a classroom setting is one of the most nerve-wracking parts of being a first-year student. What I’ve found is when you ask questions, that’s actually how you develop better grades and understand the material more.

What do you wish you knew as a first-year student?

Be who you are. You’ll meet people that have very similar interests to you and people that are the opposite of you, personality-wise. Don’t shift from who you are. It makes for a very enjoyable experience at Purdue if you stay who you are and meet people along the way who share those interests.

Accept help

Steph Komasinski(Photo provided)

Name: Steph Komasinski

Year: Senior

Major: Public health

Recommended Resources: Center for Career Opportunities

What is your advice for succeeding at Purdue?

It’s okay to accept the help and resources that are available. The resources are there for a reason. Keep in mind that you’re not the only one who doesn’t have everything figured out. Everybody feels that way, so stay calm, and remember that you’re one of thousands here that are trying to figure everything out.

What do you wish you knew as a first-year student?

I wish I knew how many students were scrambling and feeling like they had no idea what was going on and just honestly not allowing myself to feel so alone in that aspect. I really do think that people will kind of get wrapped up in themselves and just think ‘I have to figure all this out now, and if I don’t, I’m behind. Everybody is doing so well.’ If you look around, everyone else is doing the exact same thing, and you don’t need to feel alone.

Get involved

Jacqueline Ortiz(Photo provided)

Name: Jacqueline Ortiz

Year: Senior

Major: Kinesiology

Recommended Resources: Helen Bass Williams Academic Success Center, Supplemental Instruction, teaching assistants

What is your advice for succeeding at Purdue?

Get involved early, and don’t be shy to form connections with professors. It’s really important to form those connections because you never know when you may need them. It’s also nice to get to know your professors on a different level and not just see them in class when they’re teaching you content.

What do you wish you knew as a first-year student?

I wish I knew that it’s okay to fail and do bad. Everybody fails at least one exam or one class or one assignment, and it’s perfectly normal. Everybody struggles. You’re not a failure if you fail something.

Make connections

Soneya Tamang(Photo provided)

Name: Soneya Tamang

Year: Senior

Majors: Nutrition science, brain and behavioral sciences

Recommended Resources: Horizons Student Support Services, Center for Career Opportunities’ Career Closet, Boiler Financial Track, WIE-WISP Tutoring Program, class office hours

What is your advice for succeeding at Purdue?

Start studying for exams at least two weeks prior to the exam date and do a little studying each day. Also, make study groups or find a study partner in your classes. I know it’s really hard. I am an introvert, and I know it’s hard, so if I can do it, then you can do it. It can be a great help and a method for making new connections.

What do you wish you knew as a first-year student?

As an incoming first-year student, I didn’t know how the classes worked. I was in a really hard class that was a pre-requisite for harder classes, and I barely passed it. When I talked to my mentor, she helped me find a new path for that class requirement, which was a lot easier for me. There are alternatives to your classes if they’re not the right fit.

Explore research

Nicolas Tovar(Photo provided)

Name: Nicolas Tovar

Year: Junior

Major: Biomedical health sciences, pre-optometry concentration

Recommended Resources: Supplemental Instruction, Counseling and Psychological Services, class office hours

What is your advice for succeeding at Purdue?

Be a sponge. You want to make an impact for the future, and it’s important that you get exposed to many things, but find that happy medium — have time to do work and have time to enjoy yourself.

Also, do research. We are literally a research institution — take advantage of it. I want to pursue ophthalmology, and even though we don’t have human ophthalmology doctors here, I work in the veterinary hospital doing research with glaucoma and OCT segmentation.

What do you wish you knew as a first-year student?

Taking advantage of office hours shows the professor you care. If it’s a class you’re struggling in, go to all the office hours no matter what. The professors are willing to help you. If you need that letter of recommendation, that relationship is more important sometimes than what you get in the class itself.