As the summer comes to a close and we begin a new semester, some of us return to classes, to co-op, or to work every day. Our community, just by default as a university, is growing, changing, evolving each and every day.
If graduation means saying goodbye to old faces, the first week of classes means saying hello to new ones. Or rather, not saying hello because truthfully, not many people besides orientation leaders engage with freshmen.
To me, watching freshmen go about their lives feels like watching a toddler learn to walk: hilarious but also kind of endearing. You see them walk in packs to Pierce and class, the group of kids “studying” on the lawn, that one guy playing the guitar to impress someone, and the people that will play volleyball every day during orientation but never after that. These kids are really still kids. Bright-eyed, so excited for four or five tumultuous years of university. Orientation was picture perfect, and classes aren’t too bad yet.
People often don’t talk to freshmen, or at least not this early on, despite having so much wisdom to impart — whether it be which clubs to join and which ones to avoid, how to party safely, or how to know whether you should change your major.
Most people are concerned about themselves and their lives, myself included. It only took me 20 years to realize that the start of a new school year means something different for everyone involved. High school seniors are anxiously taking exams and applying to schools, fourth graders are excited about moving around classes for different subjects for the first time. Seniors are trying to figure out if they’ll get a job, whether to go to grad school, if the new building will be done soon so they can actually meet for class. Teachers have been prepping lesson plans all summer and administrators never even stopped working (well except maybe during the ransomware attack). Every year during life you learn and grow, causing the same experience on the outside to be actually something totally different on the inside.
Thinking so deeply about this while watching freshmen frolic makes me feel really old. I’m not ready to accept that this is my last year at Stevens. I was once a 17-year-old fumbling around Wittpenn Walk trying to figure out the difference between Pierce and Peirce. I’ve matured thanks to the ups and downs of being at Stevens, clubs, and internships. I’m starting to see how college actually does prepare you for the real world.
You don’t always get what you want, when you want it (our Stute computers) even if you think need it (to publish a newspaper). You come up with ways to get around it (using my laptop and bootleg Adobe software). You work despite challenges and create something that has never been done before (publishing a whole newspaper without an office, printers, or computers).
Whatever goes on at this school, most people just roll their eyes like they expected it to happen. The construction being delayed, IT getting hacked — people expected it. After a few times of being screwed over, what you do learn is how to get back on your feet and how to work around it. Classes that get cancelled still find ways to meet, student organizations still advertise and hold events; people find a way get on with their lives.
This is why we call Stevens the Innovation University.
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