I'm from Ghana, West Africa. I played tennis there and was a national champion before getting a scholarship to attend college in the USA. So before I arrived at the New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI) in the Fall of 1993, I was in the best shape of my life. At the least, that’s what I thought.

Is it really like what I see in the movies?

Setting off to college is one of the most exciting experiences of your child’s life. For you, this may be a time wrought with emotion, as your baby is stepping out of the nest out into the world. Regardless of what you are feeling, you will want to ensure that they are sufficiently prepared for their next chapter. Consider these seven items that you may never have previously thought of that can equip them for just about anything.

It was chalk and cheese with Sparta's model, which had been designed to train fiercely loyal, gallant and physically perfectly healthy warriors. Upon turning seven, boys would have been moved out to live in either schools or barracks, wherein they were exposed to sports and combat and endurance training with iron disciplines. Albeit being elite combat troops, they were, for the most part, illiterate.

Sadly enough, it is no longer about what you know, but who you know.

One of the most stressful decisions in my life was choosing a college. It was around the end of my junior year that I was constantly asked what college I was attending (or thinking about attending) and what I planned on studying. For a period of time, I had my sights set on the University of Michigan, mostly because my dad and older sister went there. It wasn’t until I started touring more campuses and researched more colleges that I realized what I was looking for in a college.

Though our last semester ended totally different from how it is suppose to be, realize the fact that we made it through a pandemic and other blockades. Despite the fact that we have been stripped of major events that takes place during the last two months of school: dances, senior trips, prom; we still overcame this detrimental semester, we tried our best.

Congratulations!

A healthy work/life balance, by definition, is a state of equilibrium in which the demands of both a person’s job and personal life are equal. As a Uni student this balance can sometimes feel impossible to achieve.

While I did not get my full first year at ASU, I still got to experience most of it. I want to share some of my stories, experiences, and advice for incoming freshmen.

My decision to go back to school was not made impulsively. I always knew that one day I would go back, but it never seemed to be the right time. I told myself that I was a single working mother and didn't have time to study. I told myself that I was too old, and that ship had passed. Then one day I woke up with different frame of mind. I was bored with factory work. I needed a career that challenged my mind, not a job that challenged my patience. I had to get out of there, and I had to figure out how. Later that day, after a conversation with a coworker, the switch flipped on. It was time. I was going back to school.

If you’ve been thinking about continuing your education but don’t want to enroll in a traditional college or graduate program, know that there are several other options. Not all continuing education has to be formal, but if having a degree or certificate will help you in your work, then that is certainly an option too. The good news is that there are numerous choices for where and how to keep learning.