Our Bright Foun­da­tion board mem­bers give advice to schol­ars on nav­i­gat­ing today’s col­lege expe­ri­ence! We strive to sup­port schol­ars as they nav­i­gate through col­lege, acknowl­edg­ing that edu­ca­tion goes beyond what hap­pens in the class­room. More advice from the board to come in future blog posts.

Have goals and direc­tion, but be very open to new ideas and expe­ri­ences. Have a major/​minor but be flex­i­ble. Col­lege is a time to explore how to use your skills and enhance your world. Use the time to real­ly explore who you are through your edu­ca­tion, per­son­al­ly and pro­fes­sion­al­ly. While dif­fi­cult, don’t take any­thing too seri­ous­ly, whether it’s a class or a boyfriend/​girlfriend. You will make mis­takes and fix­ing them will make you grow immense­ly. It’s okay! — Tom Press

Get involved, join groups, vol­un­teer. The world revolves around per­son­al inter­ac­tions – cre­ate the oppor­tu­ni­ties to have them. — Jeff Fleming

Learn­ing is a life long process and includes more than just con­tent. This time is a step in that process. Be open and count on it con­tin­u­ing. — Jer­ry Deegan

Take good care of your phys­i­cal and men­tal health. Eat­ing right, sleep­ing right and the long walks across cam­pus all help you to cope and think. Rou­tine is your friend – Hav­ing a rou­tine helps you to feel more in con­trol and increas­es pro­duc­tiv­i­ty. It also helps to improve emo­tion­al health. Be sure to struc­ture your day with some social or ​“play time” what­ev­er that means to you. Keep a cal­en­dar and plan for each day. Set achiev­able goals so you can plan for suc­cess! — Sta­cy Wanderscheid