Baxter Thomas, a second year Hospitality and Tourism Management student, talks about how he felt the homesickness transitioning from the middle of nowhere, surrounded by woods, to moving down to the big city of Toronto. From valedictorian to failing his midterm, Baxter explains how he hit the wall of not knowing if he could succeed even when he put in so much effort. He was able to persevere and change his mindset to just keep going and things will get better from there. His advice to students in the same boat is to look at the big picture and while there will always be poor marks, you shouldn’t let grades determine your worth. Crediting his perseverance, he is now a Research Assistant to Dr. Wayne Smith, Chair of Hospitality and Tourism Management, only in his second year.