How my experience at HU has been so far.

By Jonathan Wagner, Staff Writer

Going somewhere new and doing something new is an experience commonly met with excitement, nervousness, or a mix of both. This experience is commonly associated, in college, with being a freshman. There are, however, others of us who go through this same experience in a different manner.

As a transfer, I fall into a strange category that essentially makes me socially equivalent to a freshman, regardless of my academic standing. I didn’t know anyone before coming to this school, so I had to make new friends from scratch and, when I talked to returning students, I was often asked if I was a freshman since they’d never seen me around before. Making new friends came easily enough, thankfully, as the beginning of the academic year is designed to get new students involved.

One of the first things any new student does is meet their Alpha group, which in my case was the Alpha group where all transfers are placed. It was, therefore, a fairly large group. Filled with students ranging from second-semester freshmen to seniors, friendships were quickly established.

The next big part of a student’s social life is determined by where they live. In my case, I live on Wright Third, a floor where the RAs and CMC are very intentional about getting us involved as much as they can. They do this with frequent floor events, frequent bro-sis events with Hardy Third, encouragement to participate, and help finding a church. One of my personal favorite things they’ve done was the establishment of a “family dinner” every night where everyone from Wright Third can sit and eat together.

The events that have occurred have come in a wide range of flavors, from the dance party called the FroshMosh during orientation weekend, to the Stance, to the more recent Hoedown. These are always at least interesting to watch if not participate in. Participation, however, is where the fun really lies. From apple bobbing to watching Space Jam on the lawn, these events are designed to entertain the students and help them grow friendships, or even create new ones. Overall, it’s a great experience.

The thing I want to end on, however, is that this community is also very deliberate in its orientation towards Christ. From the chapel services to floor worships to professors praying before each class, the environment here is not only communal but spiritual as well. That is what I love the most. As much fun as the events are, having a healthy and powerful spiritual life and community here is what makes this place somewhere I can make a home.