[You’re Not in High School Anymore is a special three part series.]

It was the fall of 2011. I had just graduated from Tuttle High School not even three months earlier. I was completely new to the whole college setting. I lived with my grandparents, and it had been half a century since they had been on a college campus. Therefore, they didn’t have much advice on what college would be like and what I should do other than typical things like be careful who you surround yourself with, focus on your studies, and graduate so you can support yourself and your future family.

My first day on the campus of USAO was a typical one. I moved in, met my roommate, and just stayed in my room. It wasn’t until probably the third or fourth day that I actually started meeting people. One of the people I met was a guy by the name of Matt Watson, who is also a graduate of Tuttle. He was recruiting for the fraternity on campus, Phi Lambda Chi.

We started talking, and he talked me into coming to one of their events, which turned about to be a community service event. Some of the guys were really impressed with me, and I decided to keep coming to the events. Eventually, I pledged Phi Lambda Chi, and I am now the president.

I, like most freshman, struggled the first year, and it doesn’t matter what high school you came from, big or small, no school can completely get you ready for college. I consider myself a fairly intelligent and organized person, but those can only take you so far.

Being disciplined is something that hardly any first year student is, and discipline is a vital part of being successful in college, especially at such a prestigious school like USAO.  Being able to tell your friends that you can’t go to wing night at Pizza Hut or go play Fifa at their apartment because you have a paper or a test the next day can be the most difficult part about being a student, but sometimes, that is necessary in order to be successful.