New Student Message
By Jennifer Raab
Make your education your top priority. This is a particularly important message to share at Hunter College, where we do not have a traditional residential campus. The great majority of Hunter students have jobs. They didn’t just work hard to get into Hunter; they work hard to actually get here, coming from all over New York, New Jersey, and beyond to attend classes between work shifts and family obligations. But what makes Hunter different is also what makes it special. Hunter students are part of a vibrant community where no one takes his or her education for granted. We want them to know that our job as administrators, deans, professors and advisers is to give them every chance to succeed. No student should have to drop out because of financial difficulties or because they feel they are falling behind. We encourage all our students to inquire about scholarship and advising opportunities, whether they believe they are eligible or not; we work hard to make these opportunities available to as many students as possible.
We also strongly encourage every student to get to know the people who will inspire them to discover their futures, starting with their professors. Here’s a valuable statistic — one of the best indicators of success in college is how often a student goes to professors’ office hours and requests one-on-one guidance and discussion.
Finally, we urge our students to remember that the future is in their hands. Now is the time to explore new interests and develop new passions. Hunter students can study anything from computer science and Caribbean studies, to French, physics, philosophy, and film. Take that class you’ve always wanted to take, or even the one you never heard of until you opened the catalog. Take a risk. You never know — it could change your life. #
