A semester into his college experience, University of Idaho freshman Luis Lopez is a little sleepy, but still going strong.
“I”ve gotten a little bit of sleep,” Lopez said. “I feel like in high school your teachers remind you of stuff, but here you have to be more dependent on yourself, like deadlines and everything.”
Lopez, a double major in computer science and mathematics, attributes his sleep deprivation to his lack of time management throughout the semester. As the workload for each of his classes piled up, Lopez said he became more and more stressed and had a harder time keeping track of his responsibilities.
Luis Lopez at the beginning of his first year as a member of the Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity.
Purchasing a planner helped Lopez manage his time better, he said, though he still thinks he could get more sleep.
Lopez worked at Buffalo Wild Wings this semester. While he said he wanted to find a job when he first came to college, he found that it was much harder trying to balance his work responsibilities.
“I had very little sleep,” he said of his many responsibilities. “That put me off. I got behind a little bit in work and school.”
Along with his responsibilities as a student, he is also a member of Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity.
Next semester, Lopez said he wants to find a job that offers more flexible work hours.
As finals come up, Lopez said he is only worried about his final in Calculus II – his toughest class. He said he plans to take more math and computer science classes in future semesters.
At the beginning of the semester, Lopez said Calculus II was the class he was most looking forward to because he thought it would be challenging. He said he has enjoyed the class, but he has also enjoyed his ISEM, which was about climate change.
“I did not know I felt passionately on that subject, but it really has helped me learn a lot more from something that I”m interested in,” Lopez said.
Lopez has also been surprised by the benefits of joining UI”s Greek system. He said he didn”t expect to form so many strong bonds with the members of his fraternity Phi Kappa Tau in just one semester.
“I feel like I”ve bonded more with the guys there,” he said. “They”re really great. I really enjoy being at Phi Tau.”
Though his semester was overwhelming at times, Lopez said he has benefited from his college experience so far in unexpected ways.
“I thought I would be more prepared for it,” Lopez said. “It was a lot more challenging than I thought it would be, but overall I think I”ve come out with life skills.”
Erin Bamer can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @ErinBamer