{"id":260641,"date":"2026-06-09T15:25:07","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T15:25:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/260641\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T15:25:07","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T15:25:07","slug":"starting-strong-ozan-isiks-first-year-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/260641\/","title":{"rendered":"Starting Strong: Ozan Isik\u2019s First Year Success"},"content":{"rendered":"

June 9, 2026<\/p>\n

For first-year Legal Studies<\/a> major Ozan Isik, choosing St. John\u2019s University marked the start of a fresh chapter in his life. Eager to immerse himself in college life, he arrived on the Queens<\/a>, NY, campus ready to push beyond his comfort zone. Now, as the Rockaway Beach, NY, native prepares to complete his first year, he reflects on the experiences that shaped his transition\u2014and shares a few of the strategies behind his success.<\/p>\n

\u201cI live on campus in Donovan Hall,\u201d he said. \u201cI really wanted to live here to experience the residence hall lifestyle and see what it would be like to live without any family by my side. School is my top priority, but I always find time to stay connected to my family via phone calls or texts.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Like many first-year students, Ozan attended the University\u2019s annual Fall Activities Fair<\/a>, which showcases more than 180 student clubs and organizations<\/a> on campus. \u201cI realized that if I could break out of my shell a bit more and get involved, life at St. John\u2019s wouldn\u2019t be just about classes\u2014but a mix of school and fun,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

Ozan joined the Badminton Club; played violin in SJU Chamber Music; and participated in intramural volleyball, basketball, and softball. He also secured a student worker position in the Sports Medicine<\/a> department.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s crucial in college to step outside your comfort zone. It definitely made a huge difference for me because I am trying new things and meeting great people that I like being around,\u201d he added. \u201cAll of these experiences have truly made my first year at St. John\u2019s enjoyable and have allowed me to explore different realms of college life.\u201d<\/p>\n

For many first-year students, learning how to manage their time can be one of the biggest adjustments. Ozan found that developing consistent routines early on has been helpful.<\/p>\n

\u201cI stick to a schedule of waking up at the same time on specific days, and create a calendar to remind myself of everything I have going on each month,\u201d he explained. \u201cHaving a routine and calendar has made my life so much easier and less stressful. It helps me maintain a timeframe where I have plenty of time for schoolwork, my job, and extracurriculars.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Student<\/p>\n

Behind those practical strategies, Ozan credits a strong support system at home for helping him stay grounded and confident throughout his first year. \u201cMy mom has the biggest role in my success this year because she always gives me the right advice and helps me work out problems,\u201d he said. \u201cShe has supported me and never stopped believing in me, which is why I am so thankful to have her in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he looks ahead to his sophomore year, his goals are simple: Maintain good grades, build more friendships, and stay involved in campus life.<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cI\u2019m also going to try not to stress out as much over things I cannot control. My main expectation is always to continue trying my best and never give up on things I know I am capable of doing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"June 9, 2026 For first-year Legal Studies major Ozan Isik, choosing St. John\u2019s University marked the start of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":260642,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-260641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=260641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260641\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/260642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}