Oscar

“I came in kind of shy and not really open to people, but I feel like coming out I feel more confident and happier. I was able to meet a lot of good people.”

Oscar graduated in 2024, earning his degree in part to honor his parents, who never had the opportunity to attend college. He has since joined the army to see the world and gain new experiences before deciding on his next step. In college, he was initially reluctant to seek help but soon discovered the value of campus resources and now urges students to use them from the start. He made use of tutoring, TRIO, and office hours, and especially enjoyed his role as a campus ambassador—an experience he highly recommends. College, he says, helped him become less shy and more confident; he even briefly served as student government president. He encourages students to focus on truly learning and acting with integrity rather than relying too heavily on AI.

Topics Addressed

(All timestamps are linked in the YouTube comments.)

• 00:00 Introduction and Background

• 00:22 Biggest Obstacle

• 01:01 Using Tutoring

• 01:33 Why I Loved Working on Campus

• 02:34 Favorite Campus Resource: TRIO

• 03:01 Student Government Association (SGA)

• 03:39 Briefly Becoming SGA President

• 03:54 Time Management Strategy: Google Calendar

• 04:39 Time Management Strategy: Time Blocking

• 05:42 Using Note Taking to Focus in Class

• 06:39 Note Taking Strategy: Using Bullet Points

• 07:20 Key Resource: Office Hours

• 07:33 Staying Motivated

• 08:04 How do you define success?

• 08:24 Has college changed you?

• 08:56 Thoughts on Using AI

• 10:20 What is the purpose of education?

• 11:11 Advice to Students

• 11:28 Favorite Study Spots