KATHY MILLAR
Living Assistant
Moving into one’s dorm during freshman year at Pepperdine can be a memorable experience, with parents helping to move belongings, meeting new suitemates for the first time and attending NSO. But when the parents leave and NSO ends, college life really begins.
Dr. Connie Horton, director of the Counseling Center at Pepperdine, said during the first couple weeks of college, it is very common for students to struggle with being away from home. Some students even experience homesickness all semester. Horton is leading a support group for freshmen this year, entitled “Transitions,” that will help students with first year adjustment. The first meeting will be Monday, August 28, at the Counseling Center at 6 p.m. The meeting will include a free dinner, a program and time for students to speak with one another.
Freshmen and transfer students are experiencing difficult transitions with living on their own, constantly meeting new peers, and making choices that can heavily impact their futures. While freshmen and transfers voice reservations and excitement about college life, Resident Advisers, Spiritual Life Advisers and the Pepperdine Counseling Center are on hand to offer some useful advice.
Xu-An Nguyen is an international student from Paris who will be starting her freshman year at Pepperdine.
“I am looking forward to meeting new people and just hear their stories,” Nguyen said. “But I am definitely going to keep contact with my friends from Paris, through e-mail and MSN. It’s easier that way.”
Marco Valdovinos, a transfer student from Ventura College who will spend his first year at Pepperdine as a Junior, will be experiencing new transitions as well.
Regarding living away from home for this first time in a suite with seven other male students, Valdovinos said, “It’s definitely different. I have to share a room, so that’s something I have to get used to, and share a bathroom and a shower.”
Although Valdovinos said the other students have been very friendly to him on campus, he knows that he faces some challenges ahead.
“It’s kind of like starting over, coming from a school where I knew a good amount of people to not really knowing anybody.”
Horton said it can help to keep perspective, and to take care of oneself physically, emotionally and spiritually. She advises new students to stay active on campus, and not to withdraw. She also said new students should find a balance of contact with friends and family from home with life at school. Horton said a good general rule for new students is to try to stay on campus for the first six weeks to make friendships.
Overall, Horton maintains an optimistic outlook on the transitions that new students have to make in college.
“Life is full of transitions, so part of it is embracing the journey,” Horton said. “I like the idea of seasons, and just saying, ‘This is the season of my life.’”
She also said that becoming engaged in the college community can be a powerful investment.
“It’s not just about going to college and taking classes and commuting from wherever,” Horton said. “It’s about creating a community, it’s believing that the co-curricular programming is as important as the curricular, and whether it’s in the residence halls, whether it’s formal or informal, it matters too.”
Alexis Fletes, a sophomore and Spiritual Life Adviser for the Beta dorm, said that for her, the new student transition was difficult yet worthwhile.
She also found comfort in connecting with others on campus spiritually.
“I went to a school where we weren’t really allowed to talk about faith, so it was hard, and none of my friends went to church or did any of that,” Fletes said. “Then, I came here, and I found it everywhere, and I learned to grow and talk about it and share with people.”
Like most other SLAs on campus, Fletes will hold a weekly small group of Bible study in her dorm, which she hopes will help new students become adjusted.
RAs will also be available to new students in each dorm for mentorship or advice, like Tristan Hack, a senior who will be the RA of the Phillip’s dorm.
“Don’t be afraid to ask for help for things,” Hack said. “Be really open to hang out with anybody.”
As an RA, Hack will be working on programming many activities for the men in his dorm so that they can bond, like bowling and movie nights.
“We don’t know if everyone is going to get a long, but by doing enough programs, the freshmen are going to be able to sort out who they have things in common with,” Hack said. “We’re doing a lot of things with the girl’s dorms, so that they can meet a lot of girls on campus.”
To reserve a spot in the “Transitions” seminar call ext. 4210 or e-mail connie.horton@
pepperdine.edu.
8-28-2006
