My first semester at NVC last fall was…dizzying to say the least! I attended the college that I fell in love with, but along the way, I learned a few things that I could have done differently. Through my experience, I have a few suggestions to help faculty and staff remind students on how to successfully navigate their way from registration to the first few days of classes.

The first thing I learned started from the notion that NVC forgot about me! After applying, I checked my personal email account constantly for weeks to see if I was registered. I went to the Testing Center to see if I could take the Accuplacer while I waited; however, they told me that I was not registered yet; therefore, I could not take the exam.

After another week, I called NVC and asked them what I should do. I was then told that I had already been registered for a while! Afterwards, I stumbled upon a tiny detail that I had forgotten about. I had a new e-mail address! I checked that new alamo.edu e-mail address and behold! There was a brief e-mail that let me know that I had been registered into the NVC system! While I know that it was my own fault for having skimmed through the registration information instead of reading it thoroughly, I think that students should often be reminded to regularly check their alamo.edu e-mail accounts for registration updates and official NVC business information.

The second thing that I learned was the importance of being an early bird when it comes to textbooks. I ordered the textbooks I needed for my classes early; however, when I went to pick them up, one was missing. It happened to be the textbook I needed for my FIRST class! That experience taught me that ordering textbooks as early as humanly possible is now the goal for next semester. It is also something that I believe NVC faculty and staff should remind students of so that they are better prepared for the start of the new semester.

While I learned two important lessons the hard way before I had even stepped one foot into my first class at NVC, it isn’t to say that I didn’t have a fabulous time during my first semester. On the contrary, I was blessed to have the opportunity to learn on a gorgeous campus, to have excellent instructors, to meet the fantastic CaTS crew, and to eat some of the most delicious blueberry bagels ever from the Cyber Café. I definitely had my happy first semester ending and can’t wait to find out what lays ahead for my second semester at NVC!

By NVC Student Kimberly Redgate