By Caitlyn Morral
Staff Writer
For freshmen, the start of the academic year is both an exciting and terrifying experience, they said.
Transitioning into a new school, especially from high school to college, can be stressful. Part of the problem, students say, is that it’s hard to know what to expect.
“I was a little bit nervous, and I still have some concerns,” said freshman Max Abate, an undeclared science major. “My roommate is an old friend so that’s nice. But I’m planning on keeping my grades up, as well as achieving some personal goals.”
Freshman Noelle Acaso agreed.
“I’m a little bit nervous about time management, especially now that I have free time and I don’t always want to work,” said Acaso, theology and psychology double major. “I know that I have to, so it’s really about finding the right balance.”
For others, the idea of meeting new people and making friends is an exciting concept, they said.
“I didn’t expect it to be that hard,” said Aurora Holloway a freshman, biology major. “I kind of just went into this year really excited and enthusiastic, so it has been really easy for me. Making friends has been easier than I thought, too. I expect to meet a lot of new people and go into next year a lot more comfortably than this year.”
Freshmen such as Taylor Morton-Lewis felt more nervous about meeting new people, she said.
“I was nervous about not being able to make friends, even though I’m a friendly person,” said Morton-Lewis, a theater major. “I thought it would be hard to leave home and make new friends, but I made friends right off the bat. The environment at Bonas makes it really easy.”
As a smaller university, St. Bonaventure has a reputation of being a close-knit community. With a spacious campus, some of this year’s freshmen said they have found that the university’s environment has made the transition easier.
“My first impression was that I thought the campus was very comfy,” freshman sociology major Joe Fulmore said. “There’s a lot of space here and the community is very friendly.”
Although the school year is just starting, most freshmen said they are looking forward to what lies ahead in their first year on campus.
“It’s pretty much what I expected, but it’s also new,” freshman political science major Jake Starowicz said. “It’s like a family reunion everyday.”
morralce14@bonaventure.edu
