With another academic year ending at Rowan University, it is time to say farewell to the Owl’s Nest blog. As school begins in the fall, I hope that students can turn to this blog for advice and to calm any worries they might have. It is important to remember that starting college can be a daunting for anyone, but it is not impossible!
You should be proud to be a Rowan Prof and make the most out of your college experience. Surround yourself with the right crowd, remember that you can learn something in every class, get involved, and live in the moment. These really are your best years!
Reflect with me and check out some of my favorite posts of the semester!
Lindsey Tayne, owner of “The Husky Chronicles” blog. (Photo/Lindsey Tayne)
Last week, I had the pleasure of connecting with Lindsey Tayne, a 22-year-old student from Melville, New York. Lindsey is currently studying Civil Engineering as a fourth-year student at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. While attending school, Lindsay is a part of the Husky Ambassadors, an on-campus organization where she and many other students act as tour guides and representatives of the university. She works on their Communications Committee working to develop different social media strategies to connect members of the club with prospective students.
In the fall of 2018, Lindsey created “The Husky Chronicles“, a blog covering Northeastern University relevant topics while mixing in personal life experiences. This blog serves as a part of her work with the Husky Ambassadors. Lindsey’s main purpose of the blog is to interact with and inform prospective students about Northeastern. However, pulling from her own personal experience, Lindsey knows the college decision process can be difficult. She believes that by highlighting some of these different moments it adds to the personalized approach in which students can relate to her.
“Talking to high schoolers about how the process went for me and how, after it all, I’m really happy at Northeastern helps them realize that everything will work out for them in the end. I love that I can do that for them,” states Lindsey.
Helping students with the admissions process is just one of the many aspects of her blog that Lindsey finds rewarding. She recalls her own senior year of high school and how stressful it was between applications, grades, and college decisions. Having lived through it on her own, Lindsey knows how valuable hearing from someone with the same experience as you can be. In fact, she loves getting the chance to hear from students who have found comfort in her blog.
“I had one student reach out to me through Instagram…She’s from a few towns over from me on Long Island and was talking to me about the pressure that her parents put on her throughout high school to do well in her classes and get into the best college possible. I had the exact same experience when I was in high school, and we really bonded over that. I think our conversation benefited both of us,” explains Lindsey.
Even while writing her own blog, Lindsey is learning from her experiences. She admits that during the stress of the school year and her major, it is often times challenging to find the time to write new posts. College is a stressful time, but writing her blog inspires Lindsey to find the balance between staying optimistic while at the same time being realistic in her posts. This allows her to continue to encourage students in their own stressful times and help relieve some of their college decision stress.
With rising concerns of the COVID-19 virus in the United States and colleges moving to online instruction, student-run blogs like “The Husky Chronicles” are playing an important role in college decisions. “I’ve heard from a few students who were admitted to Northeastern and are genuinely interested in attending but have never toured the campus. I want to give them the most accurate mental image and understanding of Northeastern as possible, so they can make the right college decision for themselves,” states Lindsey. Even though creating posts are posing to be more difficult while not being on-campus, Lindsey is determined to shift her blog in a direction that works for the current situation.
“I believe that digital journalism is the most effective way at facilitating important information to people,” claims Lindsey. With college campuses closed all over the nation, online tools are being utilized to make up for missed experiences. Students can log online and still find that personal touch that you get from an in-person tour from blogs like Lindsey’s. Instead of admitting defeat, Lindsey is using her voice as a chance to regain some normalcy for prospective students in this unique situation.
For anyone looking to start their own college advice blog, Lindsey encourages them to keep writing and sharing their experiences. Even helping one student can make all the difference. “It may feel sometimes like you are shouting into the void – laboring over posts that nobody cares about or reads. But somewhere, there is someone who genuinely cares about what you have to say and wants to hear more from you,” states Lindsey.
Owl's Nest 