The period of personal uncertainty that comes from transitioning between high school to college is something every student anticipates, but few can understand it until they live it.
For Justin Goldberg, recent graduate of the Westborough High School Class of 2025 and current freshman at the University of Delaware, that transition has already reshaped him. “My life is very different,” he said. “College is super fun, but more than anything else, it’s about growing and maturing as a person.”
Goldberg describes his first semester as a sudden wave of responsibility, one he didn’t fully expect. “Some people have more responsibilities in high school than others. I didn’t have that many in high school, but even the little things, like having to do your own laundry…it changes you.”
Some of that newfound responsibility came from joining a fraternity, a decision he says pushed him in unexpected ways:
“A lot of rushing was discipline. Having to be at a place at a certain time, doing chores for other people, doing dishes—it’s not fun in the moment, but it teaches you accountability, it’s supposed to help you grow as a person.”
Despite the adjustment, Goldberg emphasized how exciting college life can be. Recently, his family made a major move from Westborough to Boston, a big and personal transition that he felt his experience moving for college helped with. Although the socialization at Delaware became easier than expected for him, Justin explained the comfort that just one familiar face can bring, mentioning a fellow WHS graduate and former journalism student Jared Silverman, “we never planned on rooming together, but I think it would have helped at the beginning, just with meeting people and getting out there. But I’m a pretty social guy so it worked out for me.”
Goldberg has embraced the idea of starting fresh. That unfamiliarity with which he was met back in September is now what he appreciates about the freshman experience, saying, “It’s kind of like a new life. That’s something I like, you get to choose who you want to be.”
When asked how well WHS prepared him for college, Goldberg didn’t hesitate. He compared the independence of college coursework to a familiar course:
“The thing about journalism is you can write about whatever you want and you can share what’s important to you—there’s no other class that allowed me that freedom. In a way, the closest part of high school to college is journalism, and the freedom that comes with it.”
Goldberg further explained how the aspect of self regulation, which is prominent in collegiate academics, is something that Miss. Conrad’s Advanced Journalism class prepared him for.
“You have to make decisions on your own,” he said. “In that class, there are deadlines, but no one’s going to be on you all the time, and they shouldn’t be. It’s up to you to make things happen, whether you go ahead or fall behind, and that’s what college is like too. Time management is a huge thing, and in college, you have way less time in class, but way more time outside of class to get work done. It falls on you.”
Goldberg’s biggest takeaway for current WHS students is simple: the transition is real but manageable. He wants to remind all students “To be grateful for all the opportunities you have. School gets hard, but there are bigger problems in the world. At the end of the day, you’re lucky.” And despite the uncertainty of college, he believes Westborough High graduates are far more equipped than they think, especially those who embraced independence in electives like journalism.
“College is about growing,” Goldberg remarked. “I’ve only been here a semester and it’s already changed who I am, for the better.”
