Seniors gathered at the large, wooden tables and additional rows of chairs in the Mother Williams Library for a special presentation on the resources and responsibilities they will have as legal adults and as college students that spanned Collaboration Lab and part of lunch.

Katy Bailey, Residence Director at University of San Francisco, addressed campus resources that the soon-graduating seniors can use in college to support their physical and mental health, as well as school safety and transitioning to college.

“I think that sometimes people discount the real struggles that students go through in college, but it’s normal to struggle in college since your life is changing a lot,” Bailey said. “If that struggle gets to be too much, I would always want students to know about the services that are available to them on campus.”

Bailey encouraged students to advocate for themselves and their goals, and urged them to consider their own definitions of success.

“I really wanted to focus on freedom and self-advocacy,” Bailey said. “Many students do experience a larger amount of freedom when they go to college, and with that comes a responsibility to know what you need to be successful, who you are, and how to self-advocate.”

Attorney Sandra Ribera Speed, who founded and practices law at Ribera Law Firm, discussed new privileges and responsibilities seniors will face as they turn 18.

“From a legal perspective, you have to be aware that you are personally liable for any decisions you make,” Ribera Speed said. “Your parents aren’t going to college with you. You’ve got to think big picture, and less in the moment.”

Ribera Speed focused on students’ new abilities to enter into agreements on their own, vote, and withdraw student loans.

“It’s really easy when you are 18 to just live in the now, but some of the decisions that you are making now can affect your whole future, so you need to be smart and read everything in very careful detail before you sign it,” Ribera Speed said.

It was helpful to have speakers address the responsibilities students will face as adults and as college students, according to senior Katerina Doricko.

“One of the speakers was talking about credit cards and how you have to be careful about what you sign up for and what you put your name on,” Doricko said. “In the future I will now definitely be more careful about what I sign.”