Hello RRHEA Blog Followers,

I’m Dr. Tami Shetron, the program director for Texas State University’s Bobcat RISE IPSE program here in sunny San Marcos, TX. It’s my privilege to provide this “Welcome to 2026” RRHEA blog, and in honor of the fresh New Year, I thought I’d bring our attention to the idea of Fresh Starts.

Our students have HUGE fresh starts when they move away from home and come to our campuses. Moving away from home and coming to college is a huge transition for all college students. We love supporting our students in this major transition and focus on helping our students adjust to a new environment, new roommates, new expectations, and helping them through bouts of homesickness. Am I the only one here who cried a lot my freshman year because I did not like my college roommates and didn’t know what I was doing?

Although it can be nerve-racking, coming to college also brings with it a huge fresh start.

Students get the chance to leave behind the person they were in high school which may be cluttered with bullying, opinions about their abilities, and limitations that others have of them. In college, you can leave those old roles behind and start with a clean slate. On campus, most people don’t know you and the teachers don’t have any pre-conceived ideas of what you are capable of accomplishing. These next few years are filled with new experiences and can help students find new interests, develop new skills, and create new identities.

It can be freeing AND scary to move forward in a new terrain that exposes us to people from different backgrounds, new surroundings to navigate, and so many new and exciting ideas and opportunities. I don’t know about your school, but our school has over 200 student organizations you can join – interested in fishing? There’s a student organization for that. Bowling – we’ve got that. Religious groups – dozens in all shapes and sizes. College is like being dropped into a candy store of various interests. There are endless things to “try” at college, including ways of thinking and being in the world. One of our students announced this year that they have become Catholic. Another is excited to join the Anime club. Some of our female students are in a girls-only club learning to speak out and be strong young women.

College is a place where students can fail safely. They can try new things without needing to commit or have long term commitments. Studio art one semester, agriculture the next semester, then perhaps sociology or video game design another semester. What did you like about that experience? What didn’t you like? What do you want to try next?! All these opportunities are “Fresh Starts” that might lead to the path our students really resonate with and might want to pursue further.

All these experiences can lead to new academic and career pathways and identity development over time. One of our students is very much “academically undecided” but this student has grown in so many other areas including attendance, timeliness, self-advocacy and help-seeking behaviors. Last semester they joined a fraternity and found a girlfriend. Their path to success is unique, and our staff loves watching that growth and development.

What about you? Are you finding fresh starts for yourself? Last year I made it a goal to start playing music in church. I’m a classically trained musician who didn’t really know how to do contemporary music – which is what we have at my church. A year later, I see the fruit of my decision to get involved. I play several times a month with the other musicians, and I no longer freak out when the music they give me doesn’t have any notes to guide me and I just “jump in and add to what’s going on.” I haven’t picked my fresh start for this year yet.

Let’s hear it for Fresh Starts! May your 2026 be filled with blessings, good health, and many new opportunities.