By Ciara Speller and Taylor Shepherd
Whether you are in grade school, college, or out in the ‘real world’ with jobs and bills and other things that have college students shaking in their shoes, it is likely that you can remember the first day you spend at a new school.
For a few of our staff, the memory is not far off, having just moved on to campus in the past few weeks. The experience is bound to be different from person to person, as I’m sure you’ll notice.
Ciara:
It definitely took time to digest the idea that as an incoming freshman at SRU, you would be going from being one of the big dogs of your high school senior class to a nervous first year college student. I have to admit however, that so far freshman life at Salve has been a great experience and campus life is pretty enjoyable.
Media Credit: Salve Class of 2015 Facebook - Students arrive at orientation, excited for their first experiences at Salve.
Everyone on the Salve campus has been extremely accommodating from the moment that I stepped foot on campus. I was amazed by how much assistance I received from the students and faculty who were assigned to this event. Naturally, I had a lot of stuff, as girls tend to bring with them to college the first year. It was actually a little embarrassing, or so I thought that it would be when I saw the move in crew waiting on the side walk.
Boy was I nervous for no reason because, to my surprise, from the very start everyone was incredibly nice. No judgments were made about the tons of boxes that I had with me and in no time my stuff was whisked away, and I was moved in to my new temporary home. What a great beginning for me and from what I observed it appeared to be the norm.
Welcome Week has made it easy for us freshman’s to explore the campus and see what Salve truly has to offer. I have to admit that the “Welcome Week” is truly a great idea and allows for a smooth transition. Attending activities such as the dance held in Ochre Court, the Go Blue BBQ and the Mentalist show by Dan Sperry were all great ways for the new freshman and upperclassmen to get to know each other.
It was great to see everyone getting along and again forming bonds. I believe that an important aspect of the college experience. I have been told by many that college is where you met your true live long friends. I really did not give much credence to this statement until coming to Salve but I could definitely see the relevance in that statement now.
Taylor:
This past week has been a week of firsts for me as well as the many other freshmen and transfer students here at Salve. There was moving into a dorm, learning to live without my parents, while simultaneously learning to live with a complete stranger and the biggest change for me – adjusting to having boys on campus.
What doesn’t seem like a big deal to most, seeing boys in my classes was definitely the biggest adjustment for me, a member of the new flock of Seahawks coming from an all girls Catholic High School with a group of male teachers I could count on one hand with a few fingers to spare. Coming to college, I expected to struggle with homesickness while assuming the stereotype of a typical freshman by getting lost frequently on campus; however, Salve has done a great job of making me feel welcomed and aware that college is a big step, but people are there for every step of the way.
What other adjustments have I made? Well, I’m adjusting to the food, for starters. Who would have thought that you need to adjust to something as universal as food? I sure didn’t, but what I have found is that when eating three times a day at a buffet-style dining hall, the only way to survive is to find things you like and stick with them until you can’t stand to look at another pasta noodle again. Pasta has become my best friend at Salve. It’s the go to meal of any cafeteria.
Another adjustment for me is the classes. Classrooms in a small, private high school, have maybe 20 or so students, and in most cases, some around 11. My first class at Salve had 35 students in it, and in college there isn’t somewhere there holding your hand helping you at every fall. It’s up to me at this point and I have quickly become aware of that. Asking for help isn’t a weakness, and I have come to find that help is going to become a commonly used word in my newfound college vocabulary.
College is a big step, so take it with stride.
