I vividly remember the first time I went to Counselling Services on campus. I was in my 1A term and it was approaching the end of the term and I wasn’t doing great. I was always a strong high school student, involved in tons of sports and activities, while also receiving 80s and 90s in my classes. In my first term at Waterloo I didn’t get too involved because I wanted to ensure I had enough time to handle school. I went from doing school, sports, and clubs for about 60 hours a week in high school to only doing 15 hours of class, plus homework at University of Waterloo. I had all this time and I was only getting 50s and 60s and it shocked me!
I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong, so I started to think that I didn’t belong here, I could never do it, and started to feel really down.
The counsellor I met immediately guessed I was in my first term and promptly told me I’d be fine. She explained that the drop in grades happened to most students on campus and it was normal. Those simple words made me feel SO much better: knowing it wasn’t just me and that at least one person on campus had faith that I could do it.
In second year, I got a part-time job on campus and that helped me prioritize my time! Because I was busier, I need to be super organized and focused when it was study time because I knew that was the only time I had. I am so happy I asked for help early in my university career because it gave me the boost that I needed to push through the hard times, and I knew there were people I could go to when things were difficult.
- Devon Hutchinson, Student Success Office
