As the 2023-’24 school year comes to a close, two of the First-Year students from our “First Impressions of First-Year Gusties” article this past fall reflect on how their experiences and learnings have evolved throughout the year.
Chavy Ngov ‘27
Chavy reports that despite the initial shock he felt with the harder curriculum, increase in independent work, and fast-paced classes, Gustavus has gotten easier throughout the year. “College is still hard, but definitely doable if you put effort into it,” he said. As a busy Nursing major, he emphasizes the importance of time management, stating that he’s had “to learn how to choose and prioritize what you do with your downtime.”
Chavy added that his favorite part of his time here has been participating in campus events and hanging out with friends, and he was excited to report that “the cafeteria food is a lot better than most college food.” With over 20 daily entrees and side dishes, Chavy praised the Market Place for providing “lots of choices and giving [him] the opportunity to practice creativity with food combinations.”
In his sophomore year, Chavy is looking forward to joining the Peer Assistants (PA) organization on campus. Through educational programs, awareness campaigns, social activities, and assisting students with health/wellbeing resources, Gustavus PAs work to inform and empower Gusties to make choices that contribute to their personal and communal well-being. Additionally, Chavy is excited about his classes for next year and “hope[s] to develop a better schedule and continue to use the study skills [he] gained this year.” He also realized that prefers earlier classes and intends to develop a schedule that will allow him to “get stuff done earlier in the day.”
Jade Anistine ‘27
When asked how Gustavus compares to what he was anticipating, Jade said that “it surpassed [his] expectations.” Previously, he thought he wouldn’t be able to get involved on campus given his busy Nursing major and participation in Men’s Track & Field, but to his surprise, Jade has found that “the balance for getting into everything has been very accommodating.” Despite his more complex class schedule in second semester, he expressed how getting involved has provided him with lots of new friends and fun. “I just have to be more organized and practice time efficiency with the track season to accommodate for meets, but overall, the second semester has been very good,” he said.
Anistine named his J-Term trip to Alaska as the highlight of his year. “Through my career exploration in Alaska, I learned a lot about medicine and all the practices in the health field, and I participated in activities like dog sledding, hiking, mountain climbing, and other cool ways of experiencing Alaska,” he said. Jade earned class credit for the trip and was grateful to the Health Professions Office for helping him figure out how to fit everything he wanted to do into his schedule. “[The College] has made a big emphasis on getting involved and figuring out what’s best for you,” he said. “I’ve been able to find myself through the many once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that Gustavus offers.”
Selected as a Gustie Greeter for next year, Jade looks forward to leading and helping incoming students during First-Year Orientation. “I had so much fun during my First-Year Orientation Week, so going back and helping the future first-years is gonna be a lot of fun,” he said. He’s also applied to two campus jobs and looks forward to working as a tour guide and in Health Services. “I’m overall looking forward to pursuing more leadership positions in organizations that I’m involved in,” he said. “Also, my roommate and I will be living in the International Center next year, so I’m excited to experience a wide variety of cultures (and air conditioning).”
Congratulations to our first-years for making it through the frightening yet exhilarating inaugural year of college! We’re excited to see what amazing things these Gusties achieve in their coming years on the Hill.