Name: Greg Wilson

Official title at Iowa State: Assistant professor of rhetoric and professional communication (English Department)

As a student, what was your favorite part about your first year in college?: I had two favorite things that first year:

1. Building a sense of autonomy.

2. Finding a group of good friends so that I could both laugh and talk about big ideas.

As a student, what were some challenges you faced in your first year in college?: My biggest challenge freshman year was time management. There’s always something more interesting to do than study any hour of the day. But if the big lesson of high school is that our actions have consequences, the big lesson of college is that our choices have consequences. So think through the choices you are making, so you are having fun and balancing the demands of your new life.

What is some advice you would offer new ISU students?: Your education at college has three parts.

1. The things you learn in the classroom.

2. The things you learn through internships, work, study abroad and volunteering.

3. The things you learn from your friendships and relationships. The distance you travel from 18 to 22 is huge. Make the most of that time. Balance your learning, because if the only things you learn at college are in the classroom, you’re cheating yourself.