As the school year begins, so does the hustle and bustle of students swinging back into school mode.
Veteran students immediately gravitate towards the friends they met last year, as sophomores room with friends in residence halls, juniors begin somewhat independent living in the townhouses, and seniors live in the ever-so-coveted beach house they longed for since their freshman year. But along with some familiar faces come some new ones, and I’m not talking about the freshmen!
Many students enter the picture as a transfer, like myself, starting fresh at a new school, with a new campus to conquer and friends to be made. With a year of college already under their belts, they know the ropes of college living and how to be independent, but on the inside almost feel like a freshman again.
Move-in day was different now this year, students running up and down the hallways, screaming and reuniting with their friends from last year. As I hung the posters up on the wall, and looked out the door, watching people hugging each other left and right, I wondered, “should I have just stayed where I was?” and “will I really be able to make friends here?” But just when I was about to doubt myself, my roommate walked in, mentioning that she was a transfer too, and that made all the difference.
Current transfer student, sophomore Abby Dunklee, agrees.
“I felt it was good to be put with another transfer. We were both in the same boat, and were able to share a commonality. It makes it easier to relate to the other person,” said Dunklee. “I finally realized that I was starting completely new,” referring to elaborate reunions of friends in the hallways on her first day.
Over 40 transfer students hailed to Fairfield this semester, according to Residence Life. Another fellow transfer student Courtney Stupak ’13 said that “there were quite a bit of transfers [at orientation].”
But do not be quick to assume that these transfers were all sophomores. Stupak went on to say that there were even a couple of juniors at the transfer orientation.
When it came time to ask if they still felt like freshman, they both shared similar views on the topic. Knowing they already did a year of college, and the idea of being away from home and independent was not something that was new to them.
“The only reason [I felt like a freshman] was I didn’t know where anything was, or know a lot about how the campus worked,” said Dunklee.
Stupak agreed, “The newness of college was over, but I didn’t know where anything was, what the professors were like, or what people did on the weekends!”
It is clear to see that the college experience is new for everyone, no matter what your grade in school. Everyone is making adjustments, whether it is a new roommate, new major, or a new school. It is all about what you take from the experience, and make something good of it.
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