We asked a few recent grads who spent their time working on the Student Experience Division Communications team what advice they wish they knew earlier.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From four years in the College of Visual and Performing Arts to a fast-paced one-year master\u2019s at Newhouse School, their paths looked different. But looking back, the lessons they took with them were a lot more similar than you\u2019d expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Ella Ross ’26, a College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) graduate, the biggest shift was learning to stay in her own lane. She reflected on how easy it is to compare your experience to everyone around you. Whether it be academically, socially, even personally and how quickly that can take away from your own growth. What she came to realize is that everyone\u2019s figuring it out at their own pace, and the more you focus on your own path, the more you actually get out of it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That idea of not having everything figured out also came up across the board. Ella emphasized that college isn\u2019t meant to be perfectly planned; it\u2019s a space to try things, fail, pivot and grow. \u201cLean into it. Use it as fuel to explore what you’re good at, what lights you up and what kind of person you want to become,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Nora Benko ’26, also a VPA graduate, that uncertainty showed up early on. She described coming into Syracuse feeling overwhelmed by the number of opportunities, to the point where it was almost paralyzing. At first, she kept her focus mostly on classes and struggled to find a sense of connection. She shared, \u201cBy my junior year, I was balancing multiple roles, leadership positions, a demanding major \u2014 and genuinely thriving. It can be scary at times, but you really do rise to the occasion when you challenge yourself. Joining student organizations, going to events and putting herself out there shifted her entire experience. What once felt overwhelming became exciting and through that, she found a real sense of belonging on campus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That same theme carried over into Julia Seitz\u2019s G’26 experience as a Newhouse School master\u2019s student. With only one year on campus, she leaned into everything outside the classroom, from working in social media marketing for the Student Experience Division as a Graduate Assistant for the Communications team, to teaching cycling classes at the Barnes Center at The Arch. For her, getting involved wasn\u2019t just about staying busy, it was about building community and gaining real-world experience at the same time.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Across all three experiences, one message was clear: involvement changes everything. Whether it\u2019s a club, a job or something completely new, saying yes to opportunities can open doors you didn\u2019t even know were there. Nora pointed out that the moments she almost didn\u2019t go for ended up being the ones that shaped her the most, proving that growth often comes from stepping outside your comfort zone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the same time, they all emphasized the importance of balance. Prioritizing mental health, building a strong support system and being intentional about the people you surround yourself with. It all plays a huge role in shaping your experience. \u201cAt the risk of sounding like a mom, I\u2019ll say this; none of this works without a strong foundation. Prioritize your mental health, it impacts everything else. When your mental health suffers, your physical health often follows, and both will start to affect every part of your life,\u201d Nora said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking back, the biggest takeaway isn\u2019t about doing everything perfectly, it\u2019s about being present while it\u2019s happening. \u201cCollege will hand you some of the highest highs and some of the lowest lows you’ve ever experienced. There will be moments that feel impossible and moments that are some of the best of your life,” Ella shared. She grew in ways she never expected and those changes ultimately shaped her into someone she\u2019s proud of.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s no one way to do Syracuse, but if there\u2019s one thing these grads made clear, it\u2019s to start where you are, stay open and try things while you\u2019re here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Written by Nora Benko ’26 College of Visual and Performing Arts, Ella Ross ’26 College of Visual and Performing Arts, Julia Seitz G’26 S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" You\u2019re back, and the semester\u2019s full of potential. So before things get busy, we asked recent grads what helped them get the most out of Syracuse. Think of this as your guide to doing it right from the start.<\/p>\n We asked a few recent grads who spent their time working on the Student Experience marketing team what advice they wish they knew earlier.\u00a0<\/p>\n From four years in the College of Visual and Performing Arts to a fast-paced one-year master\u2019s at Newhouse School, their paths looked different. But looking back, the lessons they took with them were a lot more similar than you\u2019d expect.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":379,"featured_media":6451,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,23],"tags":[107,86],"class_list":["post-6411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-life","category-health-and-wellness","tag-be-involved","tag-tips"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/experience.syracuse.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/experience.syracuse.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/experience.syracuse.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/experience.syracuse.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/379"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/experience.syracuse.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6411"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/experience.syracuse.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6520,"href":"https:\/\/experience.syracuse.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6411\/revisions\/6520"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/experience.syracuse.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/experience.syracuse.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/experience.syracuse.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/experience.syracuse.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}