New Year, New Goals: Students Share Their Goals For The New Semester
“To shake Jerry Prevo’s hand,” junior psychology major Sam Strutton said. “My goal is to shake Prevo’s hand.”
The question, “What is a goal you have for this coming semester?” was hardly uttered before Strutton answered. His gut reaction was very different from that of his girlfriend, Rebekah Leek, also a junior studying psychology.
“Uh, survive,” she said.
With the fresh start of a new year, people all over the world are setting goals and trying — one day at a time — to stick to them. On top of that, a new semester presents students with new opportunities to succeed in their classes.
Some students are just trying to pass their classes while others are aiming for a 4.0 GPA. Dean Natale’s goal is to try to not turn in anything late. A few others are focusing their energy on one class.
“Honestly, to do well in (Pathophysiology) because I’ve heard it’s hard,” Sara Mantia, a freshman, said regarding her goal for the semester.
But the goals of the student body go beyond simply academic success, although “getting all As” was a popular response.
Students like junior Brant Furman, who studies business and government, are preparing for internships and looking for jobs. Many seniors anticipate graduation in May and are preparing for post-grad life.
Sarah Moorhead, a junior studying English, wants to take advantage of having a rock wall on campus and learn how to climb. Junior Sam Wayland, an aviation major, is trying to finish his power plant testing. Sophomore Kayla Shadle studies business, and she wants to use all her plus swipes each week.
Others are more personal, such as a girl working for what she wants in life or a guy asking his girlfriend’s dad for his blessing to marry her. Some are all about mindset.
“Contentment,” business student Joel Hultstrom said. “Realizing all that I have done and being content with where I am at. This is for multiple areas, such as work, school and singleness.”
One of students’ most common goals for this semester is structure.
Due to spontaneous trips to Cookout or papers that require staying up all night to finish, college students usually do not have consistent schedules, and it can weigh heavily on them.
It is not surprising that in this time of new beginnings, students are working toward consistent sleep schedules and setting time specifically for hobbies, friends or prayer.
Many other students’ semester goals focus on their spiritual lives. Some mentioned memorizing verses, developing deeper spiritual connections with others, reading the Bible every day or simply spending more time with God.
“One of my personal goals is to keep a consistent Bible time with the Lord as well as prioritizing reading over watching Netflix,” sophomore nursing student Jess Carroll said.
The one thing that connects these goals is the consistency and effort required to reach them. While second nature to someone else, these goals require the students who set them to formulate plans for success and work hard to achieve them.
In this new semester, Liberty’s campus will hopefully see the accomplishment of many student goals. No matter if your goal is to survive the semester, get all As or go hiking more often, make a plan and go for it.
Hetzel is a feature reporter. Follow her on Twitter