Anna Schaut Shares Ups and Downs of Being a First-Year College Student

Ellen Meeuwsen, Staff Writer, Journalism I

Anna Schaut, Notre Dame Academy class of 2019, is discovering the ups and downs of being a first-year college student. 

Schaut is currently studying international business and marketing at the University of Tampa Florida. 

When Schaut arrived on campus it was “difficult at first to leave home but then there was a sense of independence and freedom.”  

The University of Tampa (Florida) is a private university campus with 7,500 undergraduate students, and Schaut found it easy to quickly get involved on campus. 

Schaut’s advice to future freshmen is “you have to pick the best place for you and you really need to get involved on campus, especially if you are going to a school where you don’t know a single soul.” 

Schaut quickly found friends in her five roommates who all come from different states. Although she gets along well with them, “sleeping in a room with two other people can be weird if you have never done it before.” 

Another way Schaut makes friends is by talking to as many people as she can in her classes. A lot of the students she has met come from the Northeast and she has yet to meet another student from Wisconsin.

NDA prepared Schaut well for college level courses but she warns that “if you are slacking now, you will bomb in classes in college. The classes taught in college are much more difficult.”

Schaut notices many differences between high school and college. “If you don’t finish things, that is just how it is. If you turn it in late, you won’t get any points.”   

Schaut particularly enjoys her business class taught by a professor that owns seven different companies. The professor gives students the opportunity to get a glimpse into the real world of business by sharing his experiences.  

Schaut found her career path in international business and marketing from her parents who own Taylor Creek. Her family all takes part in the business, and she started working there at age 8. 

As she grew up she found out that she was passionate about her work. From her early experience she decided that international business was something she was interested in pursuing for a college degree. 

Schaut’s dream job is “to work in a company, specifically Nike, whose headquarters are in Oregon.”