Former Students Discuss College Life

“Will I have time to take up a part time job during college?” “What are sororities like?”  These questions were just some of the topics discussed, along with many others, during the Alumni Panel meeting during 8th block on Friday, Jan. 4 in the theatre.

“I decided to come to this forum today to hear from my friends who graduated [last year] about what I will be experiencing next year when I go to college. Although I’ve heard most of this same information from my sisters who are in college, [the forum] is very beneficial to someone who hasn’t heard about college first hand from a freshman in college,” said senior Emma Guller.

Although the Alumni Panel has been going on for several years at North, this is the first year that an open forum has been set up.

“We’ve tried many ways, but this year we tried the open forum style. We gave the alumni a set of questions to answer, and gave students a chance to ask questions that pertain to them,” said counselor Chandra Brown.

The forum discussed topics such as sororities and fraternities, roommates, majors, campus food, having a car, and adjusting to not being at home.

“I felt it was very open but we also have to be able to really give the gritty details of what goes on and not be told that we can’t do that. I think it’s important that they know everything going in, instead of trying to protect them,” said alumni Anthony Henderson.

Although many students wanted to discuss every aspect of college, the discussion had to remain school appropriate since it was conducted by school faculty during school hours.

“I understand that they didn’t want [the inappropriate topics] to be the main discussion but it is important to highlight the gritty parts and stuff that is normally swept under the rug,” said Henderson.

Approximately 50 students came to the open forum; a successful turnout considering it was only two days after students got back from winter break.

“We wanted more students to come but the timing was off due to break. However, it was on [North’s] website, on the announcements, and there were flyers around school,” said Brown.

Even though the turnout was not as high as expected, the students who did come managed to gather a large amount of information regarding what they should expect in college.

“I think it’s great to come back and talk to students whom I am familiar with and give them insight on how they can better prepare themselves for the future and goals that they have for themselves,” said Henderson.

by Emily McCarter – Editor-in-Chief