By Staff Writer Jena Fakroddin

Naperville North alum Kirsten Cleary recognized no one. Not a single face seemed familiar in a crowd of thousands.

Like many NNHS graduates, Cleary struggled with adjusting to college life.

However, Cleary quickly learned how to make her Big 10 school, the University of Wisconsin, seem small.

“To me, college was more of an adjustment because nothing was familiar at first,” said Cleary. “The friends I’ve met are from my sorority and the other student organizations I’ve joined.”

Cleary specifically focused on establishing a sense of belonging, and she believed it helped ease the transition into college.

Cleary’s experience only matches what many NNHS graduates have gone through.

NNHS alumni returned to NNHS to discuss their college experiences and provide advice to current students last Thursday, January 9.

They represented a variety of Big 10 universities such as University of Illinois, Indiana University, University of Iowa, University of Minnesota, University of Nebraska, Purdue University, and University of Wisconsin.

Hesitation about attending a Big 10 university can often stem from the fear of being academically unprepared.

“College is where you learn how much you can depend on yourself even if mom and dad are just a phone call away,” said alum Ben Carlson, University of Minnesota.

Despite the difficult transition into college, Cleary believes that attending NNHS successfully prepared her for her college career.

“Going to a big high school with great teachers and numerous opportunities for leadership and involvement definitely prepared me for attending a big university. Although college work is obviously much more difficult, I definitely think I was ready for it,” said Cleary.

Carlson and Cleary strongly agree that time management is the key to being successful in college.

“It is very tempting to go out and ignore school work because of how much extra time you have to compete it, but that’s how you end up with a pile of work to do,” Carlson said.

While both of these NNHS alumni are thoroughly enjoying their college experience, they advise college bound students to start adopting proactive behaviors now.

If Carlson could have changed two things, he would have started his application process earlier and pursued more college scholarships.

“For students at NNHS who are beginning their research on colleges, it is in your best interest to start the application process as early as possible so you don’t end up with a pile of work to do at the last minute,” said Carlson.

Scholarships are often overlooked, yet they can be an excellent solution to meeting the expenses of college tuition.

“You don’t truly consider the cost of college until you see that first tuition bill,” said Carlson. “Scholarships can be a main source for paying college tuition.”