Pat Kenney
Campus News Editor
Attitude Check! Springfield College is great!
As the 2013-2014 school year gets underway, there are many new things here on campus, from Locklin, to the arch and even to the faces. This year some 550 new students were added to the crowd of 3,500 already here on campus.
We all have been through the transition of moving from home, whether that be two minutes away or three flights, and it is not easy for most of us. Establishing new friendships, living in a different place or even starting a new life are all elements of freshman year.
Although we are all from different places and have different life stories, we all have one thing in common: our final choice was Springfield College.
“Originally I wasn’t suppose to go to college, but the thing that lured me into SC was the grounds, the history and the people,” stated Jake Rodriguez, a freshman hockey player. “The people here are so warm and welcoming.”
In order to help the new students, freshmen and transfers feel welcome on campus and transition into this unique Springfield atmosphere, they go through a weekend of New Student Orientation (NSO).
Although anxiety, nervousness, anticipation, uneasiness and loneliness are some of the emotions we felt when we first stepped on campus, NSO thrusts us into a world of singing, dancing and feeling good.
“The transition into college was seamless, and going to NSO definitely helped,” stated freshman Mikaela Corbett.
New Student Orientation is a Springfield College tradition. From wearing those beanies to staying off senior walk, NSO is truly a unique SC experience. For some, NSO has produced their favorite memories of college, but for others it is a program that they would rather forget about.
However, NSO is more important than we all think. It creates something that goes unseen and unrecognized. It creates a family and a community.
(Photo courtesy NSO Staff)
“Together we are so much greater than we are as individuals. NSO is about what we create when we are together,” stated Becca Jacobson, a senior NSO Leader.
That creation is Springfield College.
Without NSO connecting students together and connecting them to the campus, there would be no classes, no leaders and no college. SC thrives on the strong sense of community and commitment it gets from its students through the NSO program.
Starting on the last Friday in August, new students are thrust into a weekend full of energetic leaders, thought-provoking programs, traditions on top of traditions, catchy songs that get stuck in your head for hours on end, and most importantly, connections.
“I love NSO, and the end result is that most of our incoming students feel connected to the college, their leaders and most importantly their peers,” said Terry Vecchio, the associate dean of students.
For students who have to spend the next four years of their lives here, it is very important to make connections with both the people and the campus. The connections we make now will be what we look back on and remember about our time here. NSO serves as the welcoming mat for all of us to come in and make Springfield our home.
“I love Springfield College. There is a great community feel here and everyone is so warm and welcoming,” said Corbett, who plays on the women’s rugby team.
In some way or another, NSO has shaped us as students of Springfield College, leaders and much more. We may not know it yet, but NSO has impacted all of us and has made us into this Springfield College family.
“NSO is the reason why I am the person I am today. I do not think I would have put myself out there as I have in the last three years, nor would I have ever imagined having the opportunities I have had without this program,” stated senior NSO leader Kristiann Kassay.