By Konnor Newton, Student Journalist
With another academic year drawing to a close at Husson University; most students are preoccupied completing work for classes, studying for exams and packing up the dorm rooms they’ve called home for the past 8 months. For many students those 8 months have been a time of development, especially for freshmen. Who walked into the many halls of Husson on the cusp of that transition, from being high schoolers to independent adults. Having now completed that transformation, some freshman reflect on the expectations and reality of college life.
Students like Zach Madore recall feeling as though, because this was a completely new experience and he was more concerned with achieving academic success. He worried his social life may fall by the wayside. He recalls imagining a sort of golden social window where all of his peers would be meeting each other and making new friends and he would somehow miss that. Being preoccupied with work in his room. Madore found that this wasn’t the case at all, realizing that in order to be successful here at Husson, it is crucial that students do have a social life. In finding a balance between tending to business and getting out and spending time with others relaxing. Madore says his first was not only positive experience, it also flew by. Madore advises incoming freshman push themselves to be as outgoing as possible right out of the gate. He says this will be the key to an individual’s growth throughout their first year of school.
Shane Althouse, another freshmen at Husson. Describes how he was weary of his newly gained independence. He pictured relying solely on himself for the first time being filled with stress. Althouse was relieved however to be a lot more manageable, once he realized there was a very clear routine and flow to each week. By the end of the year Althouse not only found time to attend and study for all of his classes. He also joined the track team and says above all it is what he’s most excited to participate in next year.
Caelan Lecrone envisioned college as being very party oriented. Upon arrival at Husson he soon found that the University’s community wasn’t quite as geared toward the party mentality he had seen in movies. A realization we which Lecrone says came as a pleasant surprise, explaining that he had never been the “partying type of guy”. Lecrone instead spent his freshman year developing not only academically, but athletically and socially. By joining the Husson men’s swim team Lecrone feels he surrounded himself with like minds that pushed him toward a successful first year of school.
All three students will be returning to Husson come fall, and appear to be eager about what the following years will have to offer. See interview below: