“College Cats Return” is an event hosted annually by the College/Career Resource Center (CRC). They invite LHS graduates to come back to the high school for the day and talk to the current students about their college experiences during the lunch periods.
In the past, this event has been held the Friday before winter break. Since finals were moved to before winter break, the Friday before break is now a grading day. This prompted the CRC to move the date to Wednesday, November 23rd, the day before Thanksgiving break, as many college students would be home for the holiday.
Fortunately, this change did not affect the graduate turnout; both 4th and 6th periods had over a dozen presenters. The presenters discussed a variety of topics on the minds of high schools students from changes in caffeine consumption to advice for current seniors.
One topic that was stressed was about transitioning from high school to college, since for most people, leaving home and going to college will be a big change. The overall consensus was that transitioning was not as bad as they thought it would be. University of Missouri freshman Tanner Dorow discussed how terrified he was to start college, as he didn’t like change, but found it much easier to adjust than he thought it would be.
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign freshman Jesse Moderwell said that one’s ability to transition depended on their lifestyle throughout high school. If someone was more independent, the transition into college life was much smoother.
However, LHS students do have one big advantage when it comes to transitioning.
“Teachers put in a lot of time preparing you [for college],” explained University of Illinois freshman Bridget Burnetti.
Another hot topic at the event was roommates; the scariest part of transitioning to college for some high schoolers. Many of the presenters decided to have their roommates chosen randomly and do not regret it.
In fact, Illinois State University freshman Olivia Richardson said she regretted not choosing random, since her roommate ended up being very different than she originally thought, although they still get along.
Many of the presenters still picked their roommates ahead of time and are incredibly happy with their decisions. The decision really depends on the person.
University of Iowa freshman Jordan Mitchell explained how no matter if your roommate is your best friend or someone you do not know, it will always be a little difficult since you have to cohabitate with them. Hannah Boufford, a freshman at Indiana University, said that it was most important to just focus on the good things about your roommate.
A few of the presenters also talked about the importance of creating a roommate agreement or setting ground rules. In college, people’s schedules and habits can be very different, so there is a need to create rules in order to keep the peace.
The big take away from the roommate discussion, was understanding that it is not necessary to be best friends with your roommate, it is just necessary to coexist with one’s roommate. Roughly half of the presenters during the 6th hour presentation said they would only consider themselves coexisting with their roommates, which all of them were fine with.
The presenters also discussed college classes and schedules. As high schoolers have been told by every college student they’ve ever encountered, eight a.m. classes really are as bad as people say they are. Even though there is a possibility of being stuck in eight a.m. classes, many people will not have a class until noon, which allows them to sleep in.
For those worried about general education courses (gen eds), none of the presenters who go to schools with gen ed requirements seem to be bothered by this. They either said they were helpful for those struggling to decide a major, or that they are able to take a variety of classes that fulfill those requirements. Tufts University freshman Jamie Stevens discussed how she will be taking a class discussing wallpaper symmetry to fulfill a math gen ed requirement.
Another important area of discussion was food and coffee consumption. No matter how good the cafeteria food may be, Richardson stressed that “you’re gonna get tired of cafeteria food.” The consensus of the presenters was that it is important to learn how to cook things beyond ramen, so you can get variety in your meals once you inevitably grow tired of the cafeteria food. They expressed that at the very least, you should have other food in your dorm.
“No matter where you go, there’s going to be unhealthy options” explained Blair Egan, a sophomore at Ohio University. This can make it difficult to eat healthy, as their are always unhealthy food tempting you. St. Olaf freshman Disa Sullivan shared her advice on how to eat healthier: when nothing in the cafeteria seems appealing to her, she always goes for the healthy option, as she would not be satisfied with an unhealthy choice anyway.
As far as caffeine consumption goes, the majority of the presenters said that they rely on coffee a ton. Alyssa Stokovich, a freshman at University of Montana, admitted that she never drank coffee before college, but now she and her roommate go through an entire keurig everyday. Even people who don’t drink coffee, like College of Lake County sophomore Joel Leonard explained, they still consume a fair amount of caffeine through their energy drink consumption.
As Ohio University sophomore, Blair Egan, stated and the rest of the presenters concurred, “don’t be afraid to try new things,” as you step into the next chapter of your life.
