When Amir Vera graduated from Prince George High School, he probably had no plans of returning in a few years. He graduated high school in 2010 as one of The Royal News’ top writers and planned to go to college to continue learning more about reporting and media. After attending Virginia Commonwealth University, where he wrote for their newspaper for a few years, Vera left and began taking his place at The Progress-Index, where he currently works.

Now, just years after his high school graduation, Vera is back to give advice to students who were once in his same position. After settling in the school library, Vera began to mention many different points, touching base on how independent the college life really is and how much self control and responsibility it takes to be successful.

“College is extremely distracting,” Vera said. “You can have fun, but you need to prioritize what you do; understand that getting your work done is more important than partying all night.”

It takes a lot of work to keep up with the studies: writing down notes, getting good grades, and still finding time to hang out with friends and blow off steam. Some college students get the wrong idea and think that either they have to do work all the time and never have fun, or party all day and night and never get work done. The biggest challenge is finding a healthy balance between enjoying oneself and having outings while simultaneously learning how to get work done and keeping grades high.