ADA, OH (WLIO) - Ohio Northern University welcomed the incoming class of 2027 as students moved into on-campus housing today. GraciAnn Hicks has the story.
A sea of student helpers in orange shirts greets the freshmen as they pull up alongside their new home for the next year. Although starting college can come with its challenges, Ohio Northern University has tried to create an exciting week to allow students to celebrate starting the next chapter of their lives.
"For the move-in day, I hope they feel the love and the warm welcome that they're getting. I mean, we've got more than 100 students out here to welcome them, so I hope they realize they're coming home to their new home," said President Melissa Baumann.
Between all the changes, many first-years feel both eager and nervous.
"It's very foreboding and it's different. It's very hard to accept, but it's also a very exciting and interesting time for me," commented Lukas Dunbar, an incoming computer engineering student.
"I feel like it's a big adjustment going from high school to college. I feel like not a lot of people realize how tough the transition could be," stated Marissa Wammes, an incoming pharmacy business student.
To help ease that transition, ONU's welcome weekend provides students with some essential information needed to succeed and a variety of fun activities to meet new people at and enjoy.
"I'm just excited for everyone to move in because I think, you know, the first week is going to be jam-packed with everything you need, and, I mean, if you attend most things you're going to get, you know, everything you need out of it," said Jay Meyers, resident director of Maglott Hall.
Looking forward to the start of classes next Monday, the university's president, Dr. Melissa Baumann, emphasized the meaningful connections students will make.
"I think what you come to Ohio Northern for is, again, that job, that great career, that great outcome, but what you learn really really quickly is how much our faculty and staff care. So they're going to know their professors; their professors are going to know them. So I hope they get that experience even in that first week or two that they really, we know our students, we like our students, they like us so that forming of that polar bear community," said Baumann.
