Although most Ohio University students are beginning just another spring semester, members of the class of 2025 are currently gearing up for their final months on campus. The traditions and importance associated with this semester allows seniors to reflect on the past few years and anticipate the monumental occasions ahead of them.
Erin Winchell is a senior studying Spanish and began learning lessons almost immediately upon arriving on campus her freshman year.
“I never really had to study a lot in high school,” Winchell said. “It kind of came easy to me, but as I got to college I was like, ‘Oh, I need to study’ so that was one of those things that I had to learn.”
Winchell hopes these lessons in self-discipline stay with her during her gap year before starting graduate school. Winchell looks forward to traveling during the upcoming year, but a break from education is also a source of stress.
“One thing I do worry about is getting out of that school routine because right now we’re so used to taking classes all the time and once I’m out of that, am I going to be able to go back?” Winchell said.
Although some seniors are consumed by making post-graduate plans, others are more focused on immersing themselves in university life for a few more months.
“I’m looking forward to having some good times up on Court Street, things like that,” Kaleb Demaline, a senior studying computer science, said. “Hanging out with my friends for our last 3 months here.”
Along with prioritizing his social life during his final semester, Demaline is also looking to make his employment plans, a process he believes the university has been invaluable in.
“All the engineers have to take a job application class … where you write a resume and you learn how to … argue your salary, things like that,” Demaline said. “That definitely helped, and that’s enforced on every person in my college.”
Eliana D’Astici, a senior studying media arts production, is looking forward to the activities associated with a final semester at OU.
“I’m mostly looking forward to trying to do the bucket list things, like going to places on campus I haven’t gone to before,” she said.
Academic and social lessons have both been major influences on D’Astici over the past 4 years, and she believes they will continue to impact her as she moves on from university.
“The connections I’ve made I know are going to last a really long time, professionally and personally,” she said. “I learned how to really connect with people, how to really collaborate with people and I know that is going to really serve me in the workforce and serve me in life.”
Demaline has found lessons in collaboration to be one of the most important aspects of a college education and encourages students to prioritize connecting with peers and faculty.
“Be a little extroverted, get out there, make friends, make contacts,” he said. “Honestly, anyone in my field can be smart and do it. There’s a lot of smart people in my field, a lot of geniuses I know, but making connections is what really matters.”
From her experience, D’Astici advises focusing on collaboration and learning to work with people.
“Campus is smaller than you think and so you’ll run into those same people and having really great connections on campus will really serve you,” she said.
As a third-year student graduating early, Winchell advises self-reflection and allowing the expected graduation timeline to shift.
“It doesn’t matter in the end whether you graduate early or you graduate later or even graduate on time,” Winchell said. “Just take your time if you feel like that’s what you need to do. Make great friends, just try to really enjoy your time and not stress yourself out about getting it done in a certain amount of time.”
