Offering advice to freshmen

As a new Liberty University freshman class begins its four-year college journey, alumni and faculty offer insight that will encourage and motivate freshmen to make the best of their college experience.

Alumna Amie Graham earned a Bachelor of Science in government in 2005 and an MBA in 2007. Graham currently works as an administrator in higher education at Christopher Newport University. On a daily basis she oversees alumni relations, the events department and special projects for the president’s office.

“Liberty helped me realize the potential of the gifts God has given me in leadership, administration and service,” Graham said. “I had many opportunities to serve through student organizations and develop my creative and organizational skills absolutely necessary to my current line of work.”

Before she reached this point in her life, Graham was a student experiencing all Liberty has to offer.

“Some of my favorite memories as a student are sledding down the hill on cafeteria trays and dorm mattresses, trips to Panther Falls with my brother dorm, playing touch football in the rain, getting stained with red clay … dress-up themed hall meetings and writing my name in the concrete on East Campus,” Graham said.

Graham also encouraged new students to try as many things as they can while at Liberty.

“Go to one of the Coffeehouses and see your awesome classmates perform. Go to a hockey game. Make custom T-shirts for the homecoming football game. Read quietly in the garden beside the Prayer Chapel … ,” Graham said. “As much as college is about your classes, it is also about growing socially and spiritually.”

Department Chair of Digital Media and Communication Arts Bruce Kirk offered some academic advice for students.

“Time management is key — learning to juggle the clock and be productive at the same time,” Kirk said. “For example, if you have an hour between classes, use that time to prepare for your next class or review notes from a previous class. It is also a good time to be doing some homework while something is fresh from the last class.”

Cassie Laminack, a senior exercise science major, encouraged freshmen to realize how blessed they are to attend Liberty.

“Foundations for life will be established … on (Liberty) Mountain, and you should grab a hold of that,” Laminack said. “How diligent you are now builds a foundation for the future.”

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