{"id":26397,"date":"2018-10-11T08:00:02","date_gmt":"2018-10-11T13:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/?p=26397"},"modified":"2018-10-11T00:50:35","modified_gmt":"2018-10-11T05:50:35","slug":"meet-derek-and-janesa-apsu-freshman-share-first-year-experiences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/2018\/10\/11\/meet-derek-and-janesa-apsu-freshman-share-first-year-experiences\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Derek and Janesa: APSU freshman share first-year experiences"},"content":{"rendered":"

Austin Peay State University (APSU)<\/h2>\n

\"AustinClarksville, TN<\/strong> – Waking up at a new time, making it to class, eating enough breakfast, not eating too much lunch \u2013 the life of a college freshman can get a bit daunting. After about 18 years of guidance from parents and teachers, these young men and women now have to grapple with their sudden freedom while plotting out the rest of their lives.<\/p>\n

\"APSU<\/a>

APSU freshman students Derek Nicholson and Janesa Wine of Dickson County will document their freshman year at Austin Peay through IG TV videos and occasional stories.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

At Austin Peay State University, nearly 2,000 freshmen face these challenges each fall, with most people not realizing the struggles and successes they experience daily.<\/p>\n

This year, you can follow the ups and downs of freshman life as two first-year students regularly share their stories on the Austin Peay channel of InstagramTV.<\/p>\n

Meet Derek Nicholson<\/h3>\n
\"Derek<\/a>

Derek Nicholson wants to one day own his own marketing firm.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018I just wanted a new chance\u2019<\/strong><\/em>
\nGrowing up in a Nashville public housing complex, Derek often saw only two choices in life \u2013 sports or the street.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m from the projects, and those are the two options,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But while in high school, Derek decided not to let his address define his destiny. Through Opportunity Now, a Nashville youth employment initiative, he landed a marketing internship with Goodwill Industries. That job led to a spot on the Mayor\u2019s Youth Council, and over the summer, he earned a communication internship with Metro Public Works and he became a youth financial coach with First Tennessee Bank.<\/p>\n

[320left]But even with this success, he knew he needed a college degree.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had already had all the jobs you can basically get without a college degree, working fast food, working retail,\u201d he said. \u201cI just wanted a new chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Derek looked at other schools like Middle Tennessee, but the size of that university didn\u2019t appeal to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like there were more opportunities for me to grow and more opportunities for me to stand out at Austin Peay,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

So in August, with the goal of one day owning his own marketing firm, Derek packed his room and moved 40 miles north to Clarksville. He\u2019s had a few challenges, such as figuring out online assignments and navigating the freedom his professors provide, but he admits he\u2019s already found a home on campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, just being here,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel like I got a new start on life. I don\u2019t feel depressed anymore. I feel happy every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meet Janesa Wine<\/h3>\n
\"Janesa<\/a>

Janesa Wine is studying nursing at APSU while being a certified nursing assistant in Dickson County.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018A whole new chapter\u2019<\/strong><\/em>
\nJanesa is a Dickson County High School graduate studying nursing at Austin Peay.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince seventh grade, I\u2019ve had this idea I was going to be a medical laboratory technician, but last year, as a senior, I had an opportunity to be in a nursing education class at Dickson, and I got my CNA license (certified nursing assistant),\u201d Janesa said. \u201cI fell in love with it, and that\u2019s why I decided to pursue nursing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her biggest challenge her freshman year is being her own guide on the workload.<\/p>\n

[320right]\u201cIt\u2019s very different because you don\u2019t have teachers telling you constantly, \u2018You have this due, you have this due, you have this due,\u2019\u201d Janesa said. \u201cYou\u2019re by yourself now, so you don\u2019t have the constant teacher or parental reminder to get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also getting to meet new friends reminds Janesa of her freshman year in high school, which she entered after being homeschooled.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been interesting for me to go into class and have to introduce myself to people again,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s like starting all over, like freshman year in high school for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

But she\u2019s excited about finishing her first semester, attending her first home football game, taking her first final exams.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are going to be times I feel that are going to be really stressful, and there are going to be times that are very exciting.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a whole new chapter for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

To watch their stories, visit (link). The APSU Alumni Relations Office will also follow a couple of freshman during their first year. Those videos will be posted on the office\u2019s Facebook page, www.facebook.com\/APSUAlumni<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Austin Peay State University (APSU) Clarksville, TN – Waking up at a new time, making it to class, eating enough breakfast, not eating too much lunch \u2013 the life of a college freshman can get a bit daunting. After about 18 years of guidance from parents and teachers, these young men and women now have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[23,5078,262,825,32689,20538,32441,4950],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4xGYI-6RL","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26397"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26397"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26397\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26398,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26397\/revisions\/26398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}