Being a college student is tough.
We deal with paper deadlines, test anxiety, time management, friend drama,
growing pains (mentally and physically), and the expectations from families and
advisors to do well in your academics and extra-curricular. How are we supposed
to deal with all of this?!
Luckily,
most college and universities provide different types of social support for
their students. Here at Carlow University, we have many prevalent social
support systems that can benefit everyone in the community. We have many
departments who help students regularly as they deal with the issues listed
above. Every single one of our students
experience a problem where they need support from those around them at some
point during their four years at Carlow.
The largest
example of students in need of social support is our first year students. There
students not only have the stress of dealing with all the issues that were
listed but also the fact that they are transitioning into their independent
lives as a college student. The majority is living on their own and responsible
for the own well being for the first time in their life, and this is why Carlow
provides so many resources for these students. Each first year student living
on campus is provided with a Resident Assistant who lives on the same floor as
him or her. The RA team is charged with helping students transition well into
living on their own for the first time and generally being a friend to their
residents. First Year Mentors is another support group assigned to a First Year
Seminar class and responsible for helping the first years make friends, have a
smooth social and academic transition, and be there when they need a shoulder
to lean on.
For the
first year students, as well as any other student at Carlow, there are many
other departments or professionals that work to support those who need it.
Carlow offers two full time counselors who are free to any student, as well as
a full time RN. There are areas on the academic side to give support to students.
The Center for Academic Achievement is a group of peer students and
professionals that will tutor students for free and provide them with workshops
to improve everyday skills such as test taking or time management. Academic
advisors are also a huge form of social support to every student on campus.
Advisors are not only personal cheerleaders, but they will help students find
great internship or job opportunities related to their interests. When advisors
look out for their students, it usually gives students a boost of encouragement
and confidence they can’t find elsewhere.
Unfortunately,
Carlow does always do a great job of letting students know about all the great
support services that exist! Departments frequently “talk themselves up” or try
to advertise, but it tends to be ignored until students are frantic for help.
Carlow also
lacks in some areas of support. Even though there are many departments that
support general areas for students, there are not many, if any, support groups.
I think it would be nice to have a student group dedicated to an issue where
they meet just to support each other’s views and have one common interest. Many
of the student organizations on campus strive to event plan and get do cool
things, but I rarely hear of students just coming together to support one
another. Even in our athletics, many students do not attend games or meets to
cheer on their peers.
Overall, I
think Carlow has numerous social support systems that work wonderfully for
every student in the community. I hope our support groups continue to grow and
do great things for our students. Below is a list of all the groups and people
that provide support for our students at Carlow.
Academic Advisors
Center For Academic Achievement Tutors
Counselors (2 full time)
Disability Services
Dispatch
First Year Mentors
Hopkins Lab Tutors
Physician (Part Time)
Registered Nurse
Resident Assistants
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