Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community

5 Things I Wish I Knew as a First-Year Student

Thursday, August 24, 2023, By Christine Grabowski
Share
StudentsWelcome Week

Making the transition from high school to college and being away from home can be daunting when you are a first-year student. Rest assured: Syracuse University is your second home and everyone on campus wants to help you succeed.

To start, we have put together advice from upperclass students on how to manage your first year here at Syracuse. We asked them to share advice on what they wish they had known as a first-year student. Here’s what they said:

Individual standing in front of the Syracuse Stage SU Drama building

Theodore (Teddy) Brendel during his first week at Syracuse.

Jordan Bullock ’24 | Television, Radio and Film, Newhouse School

I wish I had known to take advantage of every aspect of my dreams when I was a first-year student. If you’re into magazines, apply to be a part of a campus magazine. If you like to dance, find you some people to dance with. Any tiny aspect of your interests, explore it and engage in it. There is so much to access at Syracuse University, and I wish I had known to take advantage of that access in my first year.

Theodore (Teddy) Brendel ’26 | Musical Theater, College of Visual and Performing Arts

As a first-year student, I wish I knew the importance of putting yourself out there. Although I made a lot of new friends during my first year, I never thought about how every other first-year student is trying to meet as many new people as possible, and how normal it is to just strike up conversation with other students.

Individual standing next to a car unpacking.

Natalia I. Cancel-Quintana during her first day at Syracuse.

Natalia I. Cancel-Quintana ’26 | Biochemistry, College of Arts and Sciences

As a first-year student, I wish I knew that it’s normal to take time adjusting to a new environment and it’s okay to go at your own pace. Finding the perfect balance for you will be crucial to your long-term success.

Katherine Keane ’25 | Policy Studies, Newhouse and Maxwell School

I wish I knew how much getting involved can make the transition to college easier. My first semester here I joined a bunch of clubs on campus, and not only did it give me something to look forward to after classes, but it gave me a supportive group of friends that I am still close to today.

Mary Kennelly ’24 | Communications Design, College of Visual and Performing Arts

Individual sitting on a bed in a residence hall

Mary Kennelly during her first day at Syracuse.

I wish I had known that it is best to be your authentic self when meeting new people, and to not be afraid to do so. I had the tendency to self-isolate because I was too nervous to reach out to people, but biting the bullet and making yourself uncomfortable is really what makes you those lifelong connections.

In addition to the advice from the upperclass students, the following is a list of on campus resources that may be useful to you during your time at Syracuse:

  • Barnes Center at The Arch
  • Center for International Services
  • Cuse Activities
  • Department of Public Safety
  • Disability Cultural Center
  • Fraternity and Sorority Affairs
  • Hendricks Chapel
  • LGBTQ Resource Center
  • Multicultural Affairs
  • New Student Programs
  • Office of Diversity and Inclusion
  • Office of Equal Opportunity, Inclusion and Resolution Services
  • Sexual and Relationship Violence Response (SRVR) Team
  • Student Engagement
  • Student Outreach and Support
  • Student Living
  • Syracuse University Libraries
  • Title IX Case Management
  • Author

Christine Grabowski

  • Recent
  • SCOTUS Win for Combat Veterans Backed by Syracuse Law Clinic
    Monday, June 23, 2025, By Vanessa Marquette
  • Syracuse Views Summer 2025
    Monday, June 23, 2025, By News Staff
  • Tiffany Xu Named Harry der Boghosian Fellow for 2025-26
    Friday, June 20, 2025, By Julie Sharkey
  • Registration Open for Esports Campus Takeover Hosted by University and Gen.G
    Thursday, June 19, 2025, By Matt Michael
  • 2 Whitman Students Earn Prestigious AWESOME Scholarship
    Tuesday, June 17, 2025, By News Staff

More In Campus & Community

Jorge Morales ’26 Named a 2025 Beinecke Scholar

Jorge Morales ’26, a double major in history and anthropology in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs with a minor in English and textual studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, has been awarded the highly competitive…

Registration Open for Esports Campus Takeover Hosted by University and Gen.G

Syracuse University and global esports and gaming organization Gen.G have opened general registration at campustakeover.gg for its first Campus Takeover Sept. 20-21. The two-day conference will bring students and administrators to Syracuse to highlight career opportunities within the esports industry…

2 Whitman Students Earn Prestigious AWESOME Scholarship

For the first time in the 12-year history of the program, both nominees from the Whitman School of Management have been selected as recipients of the 2025 AWESOME Excellence in Education Scholarship, a prestigious honor awarded to top-performing undergraduate women…

Whitman’s Johan Wiklund Named a Top Scholar Globally for Business Research Publications

The Whitman School of Management’s Distinguished Professor Johan Wiklund was recently listed as one of the most prolific business and economic research scholars globally, according to “What We Know About the Science of Science in Business and Economics? Insights From…

Katsitsatekanoniahkwa Destiny Lazore ’26 Receives Prestigious Udall Scholarship

Katsitsatekanoniahkwa Destiny Lazore, a rising senior communication and rhetorical studies major in the College of Visual and Performing Arts and political science major in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and College of Arts and Sciences (with a…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.