Winter break is fast approaching, and it will serve for many as a time for festivities and fun with family and friends. However, leaving the daily pressures of college life also offers students the time to reflect on how their time at college has been. For many first-years, this will finally be a time to process their first quarter at Seattle University. While offering diverse perspectives, many first-years reported common experiences: acclimation to a new environment, social successes and valuable experience navigating a new academic setting. No matter what, change was a constant in the lives of new students.
For some, the biggest changes were geographical. Colby Quinn, a first-year English major, felt this, and while he has been enjoying Seattle and what it has to offer, it was still a big transition.
“I came from the Midwest, so it’s an entirely new region for me. So far, I’ve been trying to dip my toes into Pacific Northwest culture,” Quinn said.
Even though he is in a new environment, Quinn has been making the most of his time at Seattle U. Speaking highly of his experience this quarter, he emphasized getting used to living on his own.
“I always thought for like the past two years that I was ready to live by myself, and so now I’m having the freedom to eat or to walk around or to have people over whenever I want,” Quinn said.
For other students, the acclimation was less about the region and more about moving to the city in general. For Cleo McBride, a first-year criminal justice major, there were valid concerns about a new, more urban environment.
“I didn’t grow up in a place like Seattle, I grew up still in Washington, but in more of a small town. I’m not used to having to carry pepper spray around with me. So, the safety has been a big challenge and just ignoring all of the dangers that are pretty heavily present,” McBride said.
However, she found many positive aspects of her new life at Seattle U, primarily through her new friends and through academics. While the bump up to college academics can often be intimidating, McBride shared that her teachers at Seattle U were a big help.
“I expected the professors to be, you know, a little scarier… the learning experience has definitely been different, and professors have been such a great help with that with the flexibility and being very clear with deadlines,” McBride said.
She also shared that college gave her a new opportunity to branch out and meet new people, even if it wasn’t in the way that she expected. To her, the experience stressed the value of connecting with others.
“I don’t see myself as a big extrovert. So, I thought I would mainly keep to myself during the first quarter, maybe make a few friends here and there. But I found my group almost immediately,” McBride said. “I’ve realized if I get more involved, I can become more concrete part of the community.”
For other first-years, meeting friends wasn’t always through seeking them out. For some, the new friendships came to them, like for Courtney Wilson, a first-year forensic psychology and psychology double major.
“My roommates are amazing… I did the random assignment roommates, and I live in a triple and I got really lucky with my two roommates,” Wilson said, “I brag about them all the time.”
Wilson, too, spoke well of her first quarter at Seattle U. When asked about any challenges, she briefly responded, before reaffirming her satisfaction.
“I moved out of state to come here, so I’m not from here, so that was definitely a bit of a challenge but honestly, overall, I’ve had a really positive experience,” Wilson said.
Arjun Mitta, a first-year computer science major, also felt socially successful after his first quarter, but he does not attribute that success to the orientation programs that the school offered in the first few weeks.
“In the beginning, they went extra hard with trying to mix people together and with the orientation, it was like every day,” Mitta said. “I’ve just been joining clubs, stuff like that, like meeting like-minded people somewhere to me.”
He too felt satisfied with his first quarter and his experience in the city, in school and socially, although he voiced regret over taking a 7:45 a.m. class.
Ultimately, positive responses from the interviewees suggest that the class of 2028 has been having a strong quarter on many fronts, from new social connections to academic successes. Hopefully, the term break will allow them time to savor their successes, review their mistakes and make winter quarter even more successful!
