Seonna Gittens
For some students, the first semester of freshman year is an extremely difficult transition. Everything is new: the setting, the food and most importantly, the people. First-years discover where they fit in, whom they fit in with and what these new friends can provide for them during college. Can these groups help them maintain good grades? Do they make them feel accepted? Do they make the transition less difficult?
Instead of time figuring out the specific paths and interests they want to pursue, many first-years seem to exclusively spend their time and energy focusing on their social goals related to their friend group and their personal academic pursuits. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. This fixation, however, leads to first-years isolating themselves within a small group. If often seems as if they rarely venture out of this group through the hard and heavy. God forbid something happens to their friend group and academics is all they have left.
Many people forget that student and campus life at the College of Wooster consists of more than relentless hours of studying at the library, parties, and finding their specific friend group at lunch or dinner. Few seem to acknowledge that this repetition may lead first-year students to forget why they came here in the first place. Students who immerse themselves into organizations at the College don’t seem to have that problem and truly make the most out of their education and overall experience at Wooster. Their interactions with students from different backgrounds and involvement in activities provide them with a broad foundation of knowledge and experience to build upon in the future. Involvement in student life on campus provides students with different insights and perceptions of the campus and more largely, life.
Organizations provide students with a foundation of friends, but more importantly, the experiences of the subjects they are interested in. This allows all of the students at the College of Wooster to provide their organizations with experiences that may shape them for their entire life.
Seonna Gittens is a writer for the Voice and can be reached for comment at SGittens16@wooster.edu.