Dear Freshie Suz: Wisdom From the Other Side

Suzanna’s Reflections From the Finish Line #NAUgrad

Oh little did freshie Suz know what’s to about to come her way❣️🥺

It’s been quite a journey navigating these 3ish years of college. I still can’t believe that NAU and Flagstaff became my oyster!✨

I cannot believe how fast time has gone by — but I have no regrets.

Come along with me as I share my college recap (P.S. Freshman year me would be so proud of where Senior year me is now).

Oh little did freshie Suz know what’s to come❣️🥺

From game nights with different groups to studying abroad!! OMG!!!!!!! Freshman year I was watching my friends play mahjong (Left). Senior year I’m taking life as it comes since traveling!! (Right)

Year 1

My first year was spent easing myself into this new reality of undergrad life. I was focused solely on school and didn’t know much about the campus nor the city.

As the academic weapon I am⚡🧠, I got an internship in my field of interest as a freshman (still super proud of that).

Ahh my first headshot on the team! I was so new then and look at me now☺️

Little did I know what amazing doors and one-of-a-kind experiences would come from it! That is a huge career milestone of mine now looking back!

Gotta be creative with the surrounding environment!!

There have been so many great events and activities I’ve been involved with since joining the NAU Social Team. I’ve had a remarkably fun time filming content on campus and around Flagstaff.

I can say that my freshman self was so scared and hesitant back then. She really didn’t know a lot but she was as determined as she could be!

Come on!! Look at young me! Oh how far you’ll go🩷

Year 2

Now for ending my first year and starting my second year, I felt ready to learn how to manage my professional, personal, and social life.

Some friendships broke apart, some grew closer, and some bloomed quickly.

These girls were my rock during some hard times and I have such fond memories with them constantly.

These girls have practically been my other halves❤❤You can’t separate us!

I cannot be more appreciative of all the things that I’ve gone through with them. From wellness walks and weekly dinners filled with so much laughter to helping each other out in more ways than we will ever know — we formed unforgettable bonds.

Three silly girls, a couch, and a movie makes funny times😂🦵(Left). Two weeks of snow days meant 2 weeks of continuous fun with movies and group walks for meal time (Middle and Right)

It also helps when you were at school during the record NAU snow days and had days on end to bond over movies inside ❄️⛄️

Post-initiation pic with Delta Sigma Pi

I also got more involved on-campus for a little while….and somehow juggled everything life tossed at me.

My confidence and curiosity during this time led me to start exploring.

Year 3

Speaking off ✈️🗺️…

Two large duffels, a regular gym duffle, a reusable bag of snacks and miscellaneous items, and my huge backpack (not pictured) were as ready as I could be for traveling around the world for 4 months (Left). Airplane views never get old for me but overnight flights especially (Right).

I’m so glad I said “why not?” during winter break and filled out the application to study abroad on Semester at Sea, SAS.

I had a great fall semester of basking in Lumberjack life while balancing all the vaccines needed for my international travel.

Got to preview the catwalk in the SkyDome! Another little did I know that I would go back up for the marching band’s announcement to perform at the Macy’s Day Thanksgiving 2025 Parade! (Left) It’s always game on when we picnic and game on the quad (Right)

Junior Year, spring semester

Now my time abroad. Truthfully, it was a wildly transformative time in all aspects of my life.

I had a close family member pass close to my departure date. It was a rough process to gather myself and my luggage to cross the world since I traveled to the ship alone.

It was definitely an experience of being in limbo between traveling the world and what was back for me where I call “home”💌📍

Thailand solo exploring before embarking on the ship (Left and Middle). That’s me and a “random” SASer parent helping me take my luggage to the ship. It’s crazy to remember everything about this picture❤️(Right)

During Semester at Sea, I gained a deep and insightful view of the complexity of the global world outside of what I experience in my “bubble.”

I learned so many people’s stories

• someone whose biggest fear was being on a ship in the middle of the ocean — which SAS was exactly
• someone who had never left the country or been on a plane and had just got a passport for SAS 🪪
• June the 96 year old lifelong learner and “penguin lady” who has gone to Antarctica 6 times🐧
• the numerous staff members keeping the ship running around the clock
• and even having a Q&A session with the captain of our ship.

Those were just some small details of the people on the ship and that’s not even the people I got to know when visiting other countries.

Captain Jan during a Captain Q&A session in the union (Left). Emma, my roommate, and I with a lifelong learner in the morning of pulling into Georgetown, Malaysia (Middle). Captain Jan waving the ship’s SAS flag. That man was LOVED and APPRECIATED on voyage 133 (Right).

My SAS Besties and I having a silly fun time waiting for our breakfast from the grill (Left). Global Studies Movie Watch Party!!! All 7 of us did in fact watch the plastic pollution documentary for the exam (Middle). The crew is absolutely remarkable! Mark, a head cook, made the painting I bought from the Crew Auction and I had to get a picture of the artist with his art! (Right)

There are countless stories and interactions with locals that I carry with me.

• I chit chatted with my various Uber/tuk tuk/taxi drivers/guides and learned about the socioeconomics and political agenda in the global economy
• Had an ecstatic time talking about interpersonal relationships to a university student in India
• Got to hear about Chandre’s life story and how she sells personalized handmade bracelets on the beach to make ends meet
• Seeing how the Maasai Tribe lives as a community
• Getting entranced by Amara’s Ghanaian storytelling that I had to get a picture with her before she left!😍

My Interpersonal Communications class had a field tip to a university in Kerala! My friend and I with our student pairs we were chatting with (Left). After lunch, all sorts of students from a different area of the school came to say hi to us! (Right)

Had to visit my fellow Lumberjack McKinley in South Africa and got to meet Chandre, who was a kind soul! (Left). AMARA! Amara is the interport student who I ended up guiding and being her first SAS student to greet her at her arrival! (Right)

My traveling group of over 20 SASers visited a Maasai tribe in Kenya before getting to the safari. We got to see how the they live as a cohort and community. To the left is inside the school building, where they have “no mutilation but education” displayed on the back wall (Left). They performed a welcoming ceramony to our group where they manage to jump crazy high (Right).

I will always encourage traveling of all sorts, but the Semester at Sea program for me was remarkably life changing to travel, disconnect, and learn with this community.

I can talk your ears off about my SAS stories but let me summarize some of the overarching takeaways I’m glad to have learned at that time💗📝

The beautiful ocean on the MV World Odyssey🌊

‼️Use the Resources‼️

Academically! Physically! Mentally!

Look around and be resourceful!

As I mentioned, I had someone pass away shortly before going into the middle of an ocean half way across the world. That was rough as I’ll say❤️‍🩹

But I’m very very thankful for the SAS Health Team on the ship because there was a regular walk-in counseling group.

I went to it as needed as a SAS Counselor was leading the sessions and I’m deeply glad I went the first time.

By the end of the voyage, I can say I have a deep closeness to the specific people who came to group.

Since then, I have much less hesitancy reaching out about resources overall😌

I am still working on getting better with my hesitation and overthinking but it’s definitely been more beneficial than stressful as I have been back on land for almost a year now.

Thankfully these are tears of joy but I shedded tears of all sorts during those 4 months 🤧

After 4 months of kind of solo traveling, I now navigate this rock called Earth with a positive, curious, and open mind.

After all of my stories with so many people who I may or may not have impacted, the common denominator is that we are all human and humans just trying to live in this world🌏🩵

Having seen rich communities and cultures beyond my Western environment profoundly changed my perspective of this world.

From Malaysia (Left) to Morocco (Right), I’ll continue to follow wherever my feet and heart take me.

Year 4

With that, I have since been much more explorative and down for the ride of things.

I’ve gotten much more out of my bubble — like talking in all of my classes on the first day. Never in a million years would I have done that in my first or second year.

I’ve actually since taken on a new hobby — Snowboarding through NAU FIT 100 class🏂🤙

I’m truly learning to practice and embrace a “do it and enjoy the moment” mindset more.

Snow and snowboarding at Snowbowl!

And to answer the question, I feel overall better with disconnecting from devices and the internet and being present🪫📴

Don’t get me wrong, I love and appreciate my music during walks and drives and sorts.

But I feel much more comfortable and content with being alone with my thoughts and in my head and be in the moment with what's around me🧘💫

The whole 4 months was a lot of deep human connection with the people around us (on the ship and in the places we visited) but also with mother nature.

I had such an amazing time disconnecting and being present with everything. It still feels unreal that I went to the Cape of Good Hope (Left) and even kayaking with my friends (Right)

As a senior, I’m a hustling student taking on the senior projects and simulations and altering my resume for the after-graduation job hunt🎓

Me: Cheering for the robot and myself for making it :)

Honestly, all I can say is that I’m proud of my journey and how far I’ve come💙

I never would have thought that tiny freshie Suzanna would embark on this rollercoaster ride of university.

Going from dipping my toes into running into everything at full speed, I’ve grown to carry every experience of mine in everything I do and I can’t thank my time here at NAU anymore for it❣️🪷

XOXO,

Suzanna