Tierra Congleton’s first semester at Eastern

NewsWorks asked some graduates of local high schools to talk about their experiences in the first year of college. This response is from Tierra Congleton, a resident of Mt. Airy and graduate of Central High School.

She just completed her first semester at Eastern University and here’s what she had to say about it. 

 

What was your biggest surprise about college life during your first semester?

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My biggest surprise about college life was the guest and visitation rules. I thought all colleges gave you complete freedom but some have a lot of rules and they try to make you pay a fine for every little thing you do wrong.

 

Did your high school prepare you for the academic work you’re being asked to do?

Central definitely prepared me for college. I passed 4 of my classes with A’s and one with a B. The classes reminded me of being in high school because nothing they asked me to do was out of the ordinary. Plus the class sizes were about exactly the same so I didn’t need time to adjust to anything new.

 

Is your social life: about what you expected; less than you hoped; or more than you imagined?

My social life is less than I hoped. I’m not the type of person to just put myself out there and it’s hard to find people that I really enjoy being with but towards the end of the semester I found some really cool people so my semester ended pretty good socially, although I expected much more.

 

What was the best experience of your first semester?

Performing for halftime at the first basketball game of the semester

 

What was the worst?

Walking into the wrong class and actually sitting down, not even realizing it until I asked the teacher for the sign in sheet and being salty about it (wrong). lol

 

How often a week do you contact your parents?   What’s your favorite way to stay in touch with them? 

I talk to my parents almost every day, we text and call.

 

Do you stay in touch with your high school friends as much as you would like? How do you manage it, or what caused you to drift apart?

I don’t stay in touch with my high school friends as much as I used to but it’s just enough. It’s easy to manage because my school is so close to home, but we drifted because our lives are so different. However, we Sykpe and text, then use Facebook to comment on each others’ lives.

 

What song or movie title best sums up the start of your college career?

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly by Consequence (not the old Clint Eastwood movie)

 

NewsWorks thanks Michelle Grace for compiling the responses in this series.

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