Dear First Year Pathways,

You may be worried about what College 1 is about and what to expect. You may be
asking, What should I do? How do I make the most out of the semester? Well Im here to give
you some advice through your upcoming semester for your College 1 experience.
My name is Yela and I was enrolled in College 1 not knowing what to expect from this
class except that it was there to help me prepare for my first year in college. Ms. Iwanicki was
my professor for this course. She is a wonderful professor that will not hesitate in assiting
through your struggles and needs if youre not hesitant in asking. Shes always consistent in
reminding her students to submit these RRJs (youll learn about these in the course) because she
does care about her students grades.
During the course of my semster, everyone in College 1 was reading the same book
called The Madonnas of Echo Park and there was this quote that caught my attention and had
stayed with me throughout the rest of course. I was at the verge of giving up when I was
struggling to balance my school work and my personal problems but this quote from Madonnas
kept me going and it was, But, isnt it your job? (Skyhorse). It was my job to be a good student
and be a better daughter to continue going strong with my education in order to pursue my goals
in life. I wanted to be able prove to myself that Im able to handle the work and stress that gets
built up during school if it is how Im able to get a step closer to pursuing my life goals. Also, as
the author of the Madonnas of Echo Park, he said, Its disrespectful to your professors if youre
looking down at your phone when shes giving a lecture. You may miss something important. I
strongly go by his quote on this because it is important to stay focused during your lectures.
Lectures are to be said once throughout youre entire session. Theres no time to waste and let me

remind you that, youre not in high school anymore! Youre in college now! Even though you
have the choice of having your technology out in the open without being worried of having it
confiscated, dont let your addiction become a habit because it will have an effect in how you
cope in your classes. Everything that your professors will say does have a relevance for the
future. Even though it may not make sense during the time, but trust me, the information that
your professors are giving you WILL be important! Whats also an important factor for your
college experience is connection. Assuming that youve attented the Math Jam orientation,
hopefully, youve already made a few friends. Connecting with others will be a tremendous help
to your college experience because youre able to ask them for assitance if you need any help
with the assignments that are assgined for College 1 because 80% of the time, theyll also be
going through the exact same assignment as you are. It doesnt hurt to have extra help! Also, you
might not have class with these people, but I will guarantee you that youll see them at least once
on campus just out of the ordinary. Its nice to know people around campus so you wont feel as
alone.
You will be having group work just as you did in high school, and let me just say this
now, ASK YOUR PROFESSOR TO LET YOU PICK WHO YOU WANT IN YOUR GROUPS.
Im just putting it out there. From my experience, it was obviously a terrible one, I dont mind
doing group work, I just want to be able to rely on groupmates that will be able to do their jobs.
To be honest, I did two group projects and for both, I was the one to do all the work. I had no
choice in backing out because I signed a contract agreeing to follow the rules that was written by
the teammates in the group. I followed my end of the contract, but my teammates did not and
yet, I was the one who had to pick up the slack and do all the work. There were many restless
nights because of it. TALK TO YOU PROFESSOR ABOUT GROUP WORK.

Four quality resources that I will be listing in the following are guaranteed to be reliable:
1. Teaching and Learning Center is a really great resource to be able to work at and get help
with studies if it was ever needed. The center is there to provide assistance and a
workspace with tutors, coaches, counselors, and computers.
2. The library is definitely a great work environment. The librarians are great references and
can be able to help you with your subjects youre taking for the semester. Theyre able to
provide all the supplies and references you would need in helping with your courses.
Also, I suggest to take their workshop about their librarys database because that will be
very useful.
3. Coaches are your main counselors that the Pathways Programs provide for their students.
Since counselors in the L-Building are rather booked and are always hard to get hold of,
your assigned coaches will be able to assist you for the mean time. Get personal with
your coaches because theyre there to help you with no hesitation.
4. Professors are definitely the most important resource that you will ever need. Professors
here at PCC are really cooperative and are helpful in assisting you with your stuggles in
the class and if youre able to get on a personal level with them, theyre also able to
become your philosphers. Dont be afraid of your professors. Befriend them and make
them remember you because you WILL need connections for future job opportunities.
Lastly, to end this letter with one misconception that I had of college was that, its not as bad
as high school tries to convince it is. Yes, it is stressful, but there are ways to deal with it.
Luckily at PCC, it does provide students with all the resources they need because PCC cares. Its
just the students that need to take the initiation to ask for help.