College is the place where people go to better their life by continuing their education and learning valuable skills that will translate to a comfortable position doing what they have always wanted to do. 

When I first came to NMU, words cannot explain how excited I was when I actually arrived in Marquette and was getting ready to move in. That day, a group of friends and I walked around campus looking at all of the buildings to see exactly where our classes would be. That was an experience I will never forget. I could not wait to start my first class and even had a hard time sleeping the night before. 

Since that day, I have never been happier, and I continue striving to earn straight A’s and recommendations as I look forward to graduation day more and more. Knowing that I am learning something that is expanding my knowledge and skillset every day helps me wake up and get to class throughout the week — no matter what. 

After a year and a half at NMU, however, I have come to realize that a lot of the people that I have met and gone to class with are not going to graduate with me. 

Statistically, only 47% of the people that go to NMU will end up graduating from here within four to six years of their freshman year. That is the worst graduation rate out of the three four-year universities in the Upper Peninsula by over 20%. Michigan Technological University is at around a 68% graduation rate, with close to the same enrollment as NMU, and Lake Superior State University’s rate comes in at 73%. Although Lake Superior State is much smaller than our university, they are still rivaling us in all aspects. 

Competition is fierce with the recruitment of students and athletes, and I feel that both the university and the students who attend here should do more research behind the reasons why roughly 3,200 of the 6,900 students that attend NMU will not graduate.

Overall, I love NMU and everything it has offered me as a student. I have met friends and professors that I will never forget as they continue to encourage me to strive to be the best. Somedays I find it hard to get up for an 8 a.m. or even an 11 a.m. class, but when it comes down to it most of us will be paying over $100,000 for this education. 

Because of this, we should get up and learn all that we can. 

Not only should the university be doing more to help students get to that finish line, but one thing I have also learned is that nobody is going to get up and do your schoolwork for you. As students, we need to find the drive and self-motivation to push through life.

Do not get me wrong, it gets tough. But we just need to rise up, push through the hard days and get to the finish line.

Editor’s Note: The North Wind is committed to offering a free and open public forum of ideas, publishing a wide range of viewpoints to accurately represent the NMU student body. This is a staff column, written by an employee of the North Wind. As such, it expresses the personal opinions of the individual writer, and does not necessarily reflect the position of the North Wind Editorial Board.