This is the seventh article in a series interviewing current college students and past graduates, asking them about their insights and experiences in college. This series of articles aims to aid Ventura High School’s college-bound seniors. In this article, I interview Aaron Ezra, a graduate of The University of Indiana.

Q: What school do/did you go to?

A: Indiana University.

Q: What was your major?

A: Finance and Entrepreneurship and Corporate Innovation.

Q: What did you like about college?

A: I liked that every day I got to decide what I wanted to do. I lived with my friends so every night we got to hang out. Since I’ve graduated, it’s something that I miss.

Q: What was your biggest surprise during your first year of college?

A: The biggest surprise is that no one is there to tell you what is right and what is wrong.

Q:  What advice would you give to seniors that are attending college next year?

A: Meet lots of people and join lots of clubs. Go to more than one meeting. It takes time to get to know people and find where you fit. Don’t give up after a couple tries.

Q:  What do you miss about high school, if anything?

A:  I miss how easy it was. Every day I would come home and food was made, laundry was done and I didn’t have to pay for anything. Now, it’s all on me and I have to make time to do things my parents used to do for me.

Q: What advice do you have for juniors in terms of grades and extracurriculars that want to go to college?

A: Be well rounded. Grades are important but they aren’t the only thing. Find an extra curricular or two that you enjoy and get a leadership position there. Being apart of 10 clubs looks good on paper but you’ll make a bigger impact being on the board of two.

Q: Are you happy with the field that your major has led you to?

A: I am happy with it. Right now I give advice to people about their 401K’s. I love hearing everyone’s story and learning about their situations. I also think it’s very important to have a financial plan. I combine those two things every day and I like it .

Q: What made you select your major?

A: I knew I wanted to do something in finance. I declared business pre-law going into my freshman year. I took one law class and it was so boring. I thought about accounting, but I didn’t like that either. I liked my finance classes so I went for it. I also knew I wanted to possibly start my own business one day, so I added the entrepreneurship and corporate innovation degree as well, since I had room in my schedule for it.

Q: Any final words of wisdom?

A: Everything that happens is on you. Good or bad, you don’t have anyone guiding you. You have to be able to know what decisions to make. Try things and fail. Anyone who’s ever done anything amazing with their life failed or got rejected at some point. Learn from the situation and make yourself better.