By Alana Dutson
Every semester new Pensacola State College (PSC) students strive to balance their school, work and home life.
For some students, scheduling comes easy, but for many, it is an added task to accomplish.
Jacki Williams, a full-time physical therapy student, is taking five classes a week and struggles to manage her time. “It’s kind of rough for me because I live in Perdido Key, I live at least an hour away from class. I am spending a lot of time just driving here,” said Williams.
“Honestly, I don’t know how to manage all these classes [and] my own errands,” Williams said. “If I had advice, I would take it myself.”
However, Williams did have a piece of advice that she was given by one of her teachers. “My teacher did tell me that the wise students are the ones that go home and do the homework that night,” said Williams.
While studying and scheduling is a large part of college, Williams feels there should be a way to relax and take your mind off the stressful things in life.
“I also try to work out because it’s my outlet. I am very stressed with school, if I don’t go to the gym, I will erupt into a volcano,” said Williams. “I think other students need an outlet no matter what it is.”
Williams isn’t the only PSC student balancing life. Bethany BradfordWobbema, a part-time nursing student, not only attends three classes a week, she also works part-time, is married and has a daughter.
“I only have one day a week off where I don’t have anything, and that’s when everything else for life has to get done,” said Bradford-Wobbema.
Bradford-Wobbema tries to manage her time using a planner and her phone. “I try really hard to use my planner, [but] I’m not the best at it. I sometimes think I use my planner more when I’m trying to procrastinate, when I’m trying to put off an assignment,” said Bradford-Wobbema.
Despite only having one day off a week, Bradford-Wobbema tries to utilize her time in between classes to study.
“I normally leave my first lecture class on Tuesdays and go straight to the computer lab and work on anything I need to finish for the lab class [and] kind of organize my notes, and then Thursday with my big chunk [of time], that’s when I try to get everything else done,” said Bradford-Wobbema.
As a non-traditional student, Bradford-Wobbema has some advice to pass along to other students looking for help in managing their schedule.
Bradford-Wobbema originally went to college at 18 but didn’t finish. “You need to buckle down and focus on school and I think you have to really figure out where you want your life going.”
“Figure out your priorities, figure out what matters to you. Do you want to spend the next seven years in school or do you only want to spend four years in school?” said Bradford-Wobbema.
Bradford-Wobbema understands that making a schedule is only part of the process to manage your time. How you use your time is also important.
“Whatever you’re struggling with needs more of your attention than anything else. You need to go home after class and physically sit at a desk or table and study it,” said Bradford-Wobbema. “If you don’t put the time in to understand it, you’re just going to keep falling behind and once you get so far behind, the class isn’t going to be worth it.”
Students that would like additional help with managing a busy schedule can visit the advising center in building five or the TRIO office in building six.
Ultimately, it is up to each individual student to decide how to manage life and what is a priority.