Hello!
My name is Thomas Coppola, and I am the Editor-in-Chief of The Fairfield Mirror. I just want to express my excitement for the brand new Class of 2027 here at Fairfield, and I can’t wait for new, talented writers to join and help produce some amazing content!
If you’re visiting Fairfield University for the first time, I want to give you a warm welcome and I sincerely hope that you enjoy everything our campus has to offer; whether it be learning the ropes of Fairfield University to meeting your fellow Stags, I hope that you’re able to make the best of your first taste of life at Fairfield and can start to piece together in your mind what your time here will look like.
With that being said, I wanted to offer some advice; not the general advice you can find anywhere on the internet (like what to pack, etc.) but instead, what your Fairfield experience can actually be. But before I do that, I want to do a quick, thought-provoking experiment.
Close your eyes and think about where you will be in five years’ time: What will your job look like? Where in the world are you? What are you doing on a day-to-day basis? Who are you surrounded by?
Don’t get me wrong, I know this is a huge ask. You don’t have to have any of it figured out yet, but it helps to paint the picture in your head.
Now, I’ll ask: How can Fairfield University help you get there? What steps will you take over these next four years—arguably the most important four years of your life—to get yourself to that mental picture you just painted?
So, with that in mind, I’ll go through some resources that will help you achieve your goals and complete that mental picture.
The first of those is the Career Center. Of course, in your transition to college, you will realize that now is the time to start thinking about what it is you want to do with your life; whether that is a job, some form of service or anything else. You have time to pick a major and settle into it, but the Career Center will help you gain real-world experience in your desired line of work. They’ll help you build your resume, make it sound polished and then get you networking right away.
Another great place to look is to your professors. The professors here at Fairfield are not only very accessible and amazing people but also are able to help connect you with the right people. So, you should always look to form good connections with your professors because they know the industry you study and the right people to help you.
Lastly, the best way to finish that mental picture is to go with the flow. Of course, I could write a complete novel on the countless resources Fairfield offers, but I think the biggest overall piece of advice I could possibly give is just to go with the flow and enjoy the ride. You may fall down at certain points, but your time in college and beyond are about how you get back up from falling down.
To wrap up all my thoughts, I just want to wish you a very happy Orientation Day, and I want to give you a huge welcome to Fairfield University on behalf of the current student body. Your time at Fairfield will be rewarding, fun and a true investment in your future.
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