Emaretta Branham
Staff Writer
As we come to the end of this semester, seniors begin to graduate and leave their lasting impressions. Sienna Caldwell is one of the many seniors graduating from FSC, she was involved in sorority, environmental studies and worked at the wellness center as well.
“I always think that I know what’s next in my life and then something happens and I’m like, oh, never mind. But, I don’t know, probably I thought I had a pretty good grasp on communicating with people, like, professionally,” said Caldwell. “But I think Florida Southern has showed me and all my other different, like extracurriculars and everything, that it’s very multifaceted and you can go in many different directions how you communicate with people.”
Caldwell emphasizes that you never can have a sure thing planned for what’s next in your life, because anything can happen. It’s good to know how to communicate both professionally and just socially.
Each senior here at FSC is different, whether it be joining a club on campus, or joining a sorority or fraternities. Each senior has something they will miss from FSC.
While seniors are leaving the school and moving on with their lives, some seniors share some advice for the underclassmen and even some of the upperclassmen as well.
“Get involved. I wasn’t involved freshman year and I was honestly miserable. And so getting involved towards the second, the last part of my second semester on campus was really helpful and it made me want to stay here all four years,” said Caldwell.
Caldwell encourages that underclassmen get involved and it’s never too late to jump in. Caldwell didn’t get involved until the second semester of her sophomore year and didn’t ever feel like she was too late.
Every senior has their challenges here at FSC. Each senior faces different ups and downs and some are not wanting to leave FSC because of the environment and the community here at the school.
“Wanting to stay here, truthfully, I wanted to transfer and drop out and leave all the time, but I’m a first gen college student. So I had that in the back of my head. [I] really wanted to do it for my family, for my parents and all they sacrificed for me. So staying motivated in that sense.” states Caldwell.
Sienna states above that a key thing to remember is to stay motivated because that really gets you through the four years of college or more. Most students have the thought of wanting to transfer or give up but staying motivated helps you get through those times such as those thoughts.
Students can find some of the resources here at FSC, seniors advise students to take up on some of these resources at some point during their time here at FSC.
“The meditation garden. It’s still one of my favorites. Whenever I just, like, need a break, I probably go there or Lynn’s garden and put a hammock up. Definitely think that’s underrated,” said Caldwell.
There are many other areas such as the Thomas B. Mack Park which is right in front of Christoverson Building, The wellness center and theirs also the counseling room with both Sophie and Goose. These areas on campus can help students in more ways than one.
Some students get jobs or volunteer here at the school and can have an impact on some seniors leaving FSC.
“I didn’t utilize counseling. I had planned to during my second year here, but I never got around to it. I work at the Wellness Center, and so definitely utilize them a lot. Interact with a lot of the counseling members through there, but never actually had a meeting or anything with them. But yeah, safety. I call safety all the time about stuff in my apartment. We love safety,” said Caldwell.
Seniors encourage the underclassmen to not only get involved but to also try to get out of their comfort zones and do things outside of their little bubbles.
“I know a lot of different people in different organizations who put on events, and I love to go and support them. Just going out there, even just popping by, grabbing a little snack for a second and getting that passport credit is always just a good way, even not so much to try to get involved, but just get out of your room and, you know, see the sights, I guess, of Florida Southern,” said Caldwell.
Seniors leave a lasting impact not only on their own college experience, but also on the underclassmen they mentor. Through advice and encouragement, they inspire younger students to step outside their comfort zones, get involved on campus, use available resources and build meaningful connections within the FSC community.
