It’s winter. The holiday break is a memory, and you’re settling in to the new term. And while it may seem that having been gone for a few weeks shouldn’t make a difference, we all know it does. So it’s important to think about things you can do to gear up for a great spring semester.

I’m the first in my family to attend university. Early on, my parents told me how much school would help me in the future, but I never really thought of going to college after high school. I thought I would find a job somewhere around Shiprock, N.M., and maybe take a few classes at San Juan College, a local community college. It wasn’t until my senior year in high school that two Teach for America teachers opened my eyes to my full academic potential. They challenged me in AP Calculus and Honors Chemistry and helped me apply to several colleges and scholarships.

When I was six years old, my older sister bought me a toy microscope. The first thing we did was prick her finger so we could look at a drop of blood under the microscope. 

For most students, the prerequisites for academic success include more than intro courses. To do well in a rigorous campus environment, students need a strong safety net of support that includes like-minded friends, effective mentors, and cultural affirmation. 

The student debt crisis has been in the headlines lately, and for good reason. Student loans are now second only to mortgages as the country’s principal category of consumer debt. There are more than 44 million student borrowers with a total of $1.45 trillion in debt — the average graduate from the class of 2016 entered the workforce with more than $37,000 in student loans.

I grew up in Eagle Butte, a small town on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation in South Dakota. I’m Lakota from the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. My home consisted of my parents, four siblings, many cousins, and friends. My parents have huge hearts and always welcomed children into our home.

I grew up on the Hoopa Indian Reservation in Northern California for the first part of my childhood, then I moved to Karuk territory, specifically the Katamiin region, when I was in sixth grade. The town is very remote. Although the city’s sign says it has a population of 250, I swear I’ve never seen 250 people there before!

My higher education path can best be described as “where there’s a will, there’s a way!” Even though my dad had gone to community college, no one in my family had gone to a traditional four-year college, or gone on to graduate school, so I didn’t really know what to expect. I found out it’s not always easy, but with passion and dedication you can do anything.

Growing up on the Wind River Reservation in Fort Washakie, Wyo., Jason Baldes got an early start in wilderness exploration. As a child he would traverse the backcountry of the reservation on horseback with his father. Together they visited over 200 lakes in the Wind River Wilderness, the first nationally protected wilderness area in the United States.

Sofia Panarella has lived in many places, from Oregon to Montana to Rhode Island, but regardless of where she lives, she is, and always will be, a Native Hawai’ian. Moving from place to place opened Panarella’s eyes to the differences in living conditions and services available to individuals across the United States. It was these differences that pushed her to pursue a dream she didn’t even realize she had: to obtain a degree in economics and public health in order to make real change for real people, wherever she may be.