Photo by: Giana Casso
By: Giana Casso
The first week of school feels different when you’re no longer just finding your way but redefining it. Here’s what it’s like navigating UIW as both an undergrad and grad student.
The first week back at UIW is always a mix of exhilaration and nerves. As an undergrad, you’re flooded with that unmistakable new semester energy, the thrill of new classes, the feel of meeting classmates, and the joy of rediscovering familiar hallways. The Student Engagement Center brims with students grabbing coffee at Starbucks, club fairs unfold under the sunshine, and every corner seems full of possibility.
Now, as a grad student, those feelings shift in subtle but meaningful ways. The excitement is still there, but it comes with a quiet intensity. You enter the classroom carrying not only ambition and memories of undergrad, but also a sharper focus on goals. Your conversations are more targeted. “What will my capstone focus be?” rather than “Is this class going to be fun?” The schedule feels fuller and the expectations a bit higher, but so does the sense of purpose.
This first week, I find myself floating between those two worlds. I smile at the incoming freshmen as they squint at their schedules on their phones, trying to navigate campus and find their designated classrooms, recalling my own wide-eyed beginning in the Administration Building back in 2021. At the same time, I’m reviewing course syllabi that ask for more research, deeper reflections, and sharper analysis. Where undergrad me reveled in social connections, grad student me is charting a professional path. Those chaotic first days of swapping socials and forming group chats before classes even started feel nostalgic now, even as I find myself more intentional about the organizations I give my time to.
What stays the same, though, is the unique UIW spirit. Whether you’re unpacking your first dorm essentials or opening your laptop for a seminar style discussion, there’s a shared warmth that resonates. That sense of belonging never truly fades. In fact, it evolves from wide-eyed discovery into intentional engagement.
So here’s to a first week of shifting roles yet unchanging community. To the undergrads, savor every loud laugh in the quad. To the grad students, trust that this deeper dive really is worth it. And to those of us bridging the two, may we hold both excitement and clarity close as we move forward.
Giana Casso graduated from the University of the Incarnate Word in May 2025 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing and a minor in Communication Arts. She is currently pursuing her Master of Arts in Communication Arts.
