Ohio University has kicked off its semester and students are eager to be back on the green and on campus. With early and regular move-in finished for on-campus students, Athens and OU have grown livelier once again with both new and familiar faces alike. As everyone transitions to the new school year, students look toward the seemingly most normal fall semester in several years.
Taylor Curson, a sophomore studying mathematics, switched majors between her first and second year, but still had a positive time as a freshman.
“I was an engineering major and that was a really tough adjustment from high school,” Curson said. “But overall, it’s been a really good experience, especially at Ohio University. I really liked the social aspect of it (freshman year).”
One thing that Curson is looking forward to this year with everything seeming a bit more normal is getting to see people in-person for class without a mandatory face covering, as OU is currently at a medium community COVID-19 level.
“It definitely gets my morale up a little bit (having optional mask requirements), and I know a lot of the classmates around me were just more excited to see each other’s faces,” Curson said. “When we could see them without masks, that was really nice, so I'm really excited to see people again.”
Lydia Perry, a sophomore studying journalism, is also happy about meeting new people this year and getting more involved on campus.
“I’m excited to make connections and meet lots of new people,” Perry said. “I want to get more involved this year. Hopefully not over-involve myself, but I definitely want to join a few new clubs or organizations.”
Now that Perry has a year of college under her belt, she believes that this year will be better than last year.
“I think that this year will be better academically, and hopefully I’ll still be able to have the social connections that I made all throughout my first year and make them stronger, as well as still staying on top of my academics,” Perry said.
Chriz Duclos, a junior studying musical theater and playwriting, is relieved that things seem to be going back to normal with in-person classes and school starting up.
“I'm really relieved, honestly,” Duclos said. “The pandemic has been very hard. I feel like my first couple of years of college, I didn't get as many opportunities socially … and to get involved in things. Things can be more open now and there’s more opportunities for that.”
If Duclos could give advice to incoming students, it would be to remember self care and to enjoy yourself while you’re in college.
“Make time to take care of yourself, make time to have fun, because even though we feel like those things aren’t supposed to be prioritized all the time, sometimes they’re necessary,” Duclos said.
