There’s a scene like this in almost every science fiction movie: a door opens up in a wall and all you can see through the doorway is blinding light. That’s what college should be, a portal to new opportunities and ways of thinking. It can be pretty scary stepping through that door, because you never know what lays beyond.

The Royal Gazette recently spoke to a few Bermuda College students, past and present, and asked them what their challenges were after stepping through that door, and what their advice was for freshmen. “Seize the day,” were the words that came back.

“As a young student I gave up on college and then ten years later decided to go back to school and redo everything,” said Nedia Williams, 33. “It is important to let young people know that now is the time to get it done. You don’t want to come back in twenty years and do it all over again.”

She said freshmen should look around and find older students to network with.

“I think it would be a good idea for them to have a mentor ­— someone who can guide them through their experiences, “ she said. “A nice idea would be to have adult students to mentor the younger ones.”

She said one of her challenges was that as an adult student she was “rolled” from advisor to advisor, rather than having the same person throughout her time at the Bermuda College.

“I had a good experience at the Bermuda College,” she said. “I didn’t have any other issues.”

She is currently studying business management through the Bermuda College’s distance learning link up with Mount St Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Mrs Williams said if you are an adult going back to college, don’t worry, you won’t be alone.

“I felt like I was determined and I had a goal in mind and I wanted to do it and get my education back,” she said. “There was a mixture of younger and older students. Everyone is quite friendly and you have to do what you have to do.”

Kishana Quallo, who is also taking classes at Mount St Vincent, through the Bermuda College, recently became one of the first Bermuda College students to take advantage of a Mount St Vincent study abroad programme. She spent a few weeks earlier this summer in China.

“My study abroad trip to China was amazing,” she said. “I learned so much in so little time; it was unbelievable. China was a big culture shock and I would definitely recommend anyone giving it a shot.”

She said the most difficult part about entering the Bermuda College was just getting up the motivation and zeal to enrol.

“Then getting the required documents to enrol was time consuming,” she said. “Once I started everything went smoothly from there. All the staff and faculty are willing to help you. Everyone is nice and friendly so I didn’t have any issue when I started.”

Her advice to freshmen was to go in with determination, high enthusiasm and a positive attitude.

“Help is always available when you need it,” she said. “Staff are always willing to help you to maximise your potential.”

Mrs Quallo said there were a number of free resources available at the Bermuda College to help students including the library, the online Moodle website (moodle.college.bm) and the Academic Resource Centre (ARC).

“Once enrolled, there are a number of opportunities such as part time, temporary and full time student employment,” she said. “There are charitable organisations to get involved with, scholarships, bursaries.”

“The Bermuda College is a great stepping stone for students that would like to continue their studies but cannot afford to go abroad to school,” said LaVonna Thomas who graduated earlier this year.

“My advice for incoming freshmen is to be strong minded and communicate with their advisers, counsellors or whomever can help them when they are in need,” she said. “There may be times people may say bad things about Bermuda College but half of them probably didn’t attend Bermuda College or they heard rumours, or they did not do what they were supposed to do.”

Ms Thomas said communication is the key because college is totally different from high school.

“For instance, if you are missing an assignment or miss class and you do not contact your lecturer they will not call or look for you,” she said. “It is up to you as a college student to get any necessary missing notes or class work. It is up to you to communicate with your professor about the missing work.”

She said she and some of her fellow students did experience some financial challenges going to the Bermuda College.

“One concern that I had, and many of my fellow classmates would agree, was the price for paying for class fees and books,” she said. “I actually had the chance for free tuition for my first semester back in fall 2010. I think more money (if possible) should be granted to Bermuda College so that more students can attend. There has been a decrease in numbers because students have to pay for tuition.”

She thought the decrease in students might increase as the price of tuition goes up.

But she said overall, the Bermuda College was the best choice for her to continue her studies and obtain an Associates Degree in Business Administration.

Karrita Smith has just received a certificate from the Bermuda College in hair dressing. “It seemed more convenient to go to the Bermuda College than to go abroad,” she said. “I have a job already and I wasn’t able to go away.”

Starting out, she felt a little nervous as she has dyslexia, a disorder that involves reading and spelling challenges.

“I was a bit scared to go ahead and write.”

Many colleges, including the Bermuda College, will give students diagnosed with dyslexia extra time when writing exams.

“They said I could have a tutor, but to me it wasn’t needed,” said Ms Smith. “I told my classmates I had dyslexia and they were very sensitive to the situation.” Her fellow students would often share their notes with her if she had gotten behind.

“It was actually good for me,” she said, “as I got to know my classmates. We ended up becoming a team; everyone was helping each other. Some of the teachers would write the information down for me on the board.”

Her advice to incoming freshmen is to ask questions if you are unsure about something. “Let your professors know if you have difficulties,” she said.

Now she is considering going back to the Bermuda College to do a child care certification.