Author: kingandl18

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What to Expect During Orientation Week

Coming to college for the first time is stressful. Maybe you do not know anyone and you have to make all new friends, you are starting the next academic chapter in your life, or maybe you are so excited about college and you have been waiting for this for a long time. No matter where you are in your transition to college, you will be pleasantly surprised whenever you walk on campus and you see Orientation Board waiting for you with a smile.

Your college experience is going to start with a bunch of upperclassmen coming to your car and carrying all of your stuff to your new room, so you will not have to carry anything. That is just the start of the blessing that is the Orientation Board (OB). Next, you will go to orientation and go to all of your meetings. This can seem very boring and mundane, but as a senior, I would love to go through that process all over again. Do not take it for granted.

Then the real fun begins, because that same night you will go to a dance called the “Graffiti Dance” where you wear a white T-shirt and you get signatures all over your shirt from all of your new classmates. It is such a special thing to go back and look who signed your shirt years later and realize that there are names on there that are your best friends now and you did not realize it that night.

Then there are more events on campus held by OB that will get you familiar with the campus but also familiarize you with your classmates, so you can make new friends very quickly. Just about everyone there is in the same boat as you and they are excited to be able to make friendships just like you. There are several days on campus where it is just the freshmen and OB, along with a couple of the fall sports teams preparing for their seasons. Then after a couple of days, the rest of campus will arrive, and you have even more people to meet and a lot more people that can be your friends.

Being on such a small campus is so nice during this week because you are all forced to be together all the time and make friends, whether you want to or not. The campus is not confusing, and you will be overprepared by the time the week is over. The whole OB group is welcoming and will help you with whatever you need. There is a lot more than what I talked about in this blog, but there is so much fun to be had here on campus at the start of your college experience.

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Finding Your Values at GCC

When transitioning into college life, it can be difficult to figure out who you are as an individual. You have spent your whole life following your parents’ lead and maybe kind of going through the motions, but at college, you will be challenged to formulate your own opinions and views. This is a great thing, and a natural progression, but that does not mean it is not scary.

Coming to Grove City, I was challenged both in my faith, but also views on politics and life. I came from a Christian high school, so I thought that I would have a pretty easy transition into college life since it is very similar, but that was not the case at all. Living on your own you are forced to make decisions for yourself, and you do not have to let anyone know what you are doing. I had a difficult transition period coming into school because I never really thought about who I was, but luckily the people here are so helpful and care about you.

For some people, the mandatory chapel can seem like something that is not fun or intriguing, but it can actually help you make your faith your own and make that next step in your life. Also, the professors at GCC care about your well-being and your academic performance so much that they will reach out and make sure that you are doing okay. I grew up in a home where we went to church all the time, and I was not exposed to any differing views religiously or politically at all. College was the first time when I was exposed to differing opinions, and I did not have the knowledge to back up anything I believed in. But being at Grove City is different in the sense that everyone is willing to have these difficult conversations with you and walk with you through this challenging time because they are all going through the same thing. It is challenging and may seem very daunting, but do not be discouraged.

You do not have to have everything figured out before you get to school, because there will be a lot of people in the same boat as you and that is a great thing because that means you can form meaningful relationships with people while building your faith and opinions all at the same time. There are plenty of groups and organizations on campus that can help you form your own views, and also there are so many clubs that you can join once you have decided what you are interested in. Grove City is a great place where you can form your own views and build unbreakable bonds.

 

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The New Team on Campus

The Women’s Lacrosse team has been a club team for years here at Grove City College, but now they are finally an NCAA varsity sport. There are now 23 varsity sports at GCC between the men’s and the women’s programs. With their first recruiting class this season, the Wolverines are 11-2 and 5-0 in the Presidents Athletic Conference. I interviewed senior captain Grace Dymski about the team and the vision for the program.

What is your favorite part about the team?

Grace said that she loves the intensity of the team, meaning that the whole team is invested in the culture and they are really all in. She said, “We all know how to get things done, but we have a lot of fun doing it.” The team is very tight-knit, especially for only being a first-year program.

What is your team’s vision?

The vision is “for our presence to illuminate the places and people we touch with Christ’s light.” This is a great representation of the team since we all try to glorify God through our play and through our actions on the field and on the sidelines. Though it may seem challenging when not every school has the same core values and vision, that does not mean we cannot show Christ’s love through sport.

How has it been transitioning from club to NCAA varsity?

Grace was a freshman on the club women’s lacrosse team, and due to COVID her time got cut short. However, she had the opportunity to play for the varsity team for her senior year which has turned out to be a huge blessing. She says that it is definitely a bigger time commitment, but it is worth it to see the team grow and have success as a unit. If you invest in the team and the program then you will see great results, and that is what is happening here this year.

The lacrosse team has had great success this far in the season, and hopefully, they will continue to compete strongly in the PAC. The team culture is great and will continue to grow under Coach Jackowski.

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Best Places to Study on Campus

A lot of your time will be spent studying and doing homework while at school, especially when you are just starting your college career, because you will want to get off to a good start. So, I will be giving you the best places to study on campus and the pros and cons of each study area.

Staley Hall of Arts and Letters

This is my go-to place to do work. It has a good balance of being social and being quiet enough to get all of your work done. This is the main academic building for the Calderwood school, which is the liberal arts school. You are able to sign out the classrooms and use them for studying from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. This is really helpful because you can get a room with friends and have a casual study session, or you can get a room alone and grind out a lot of work in one night in silence. This is the best for me because I like studying with friends so I can get a room and study without being a disturbance to others. There is also a common area in the lobby where you can do work at tables with friends, but that is meant to be quiet so it is good when you have a small amount of work to do by yourself.

Henry Buhl Library

Originally I would say that the Library is not the place to go to study, but with the new updates, it is great. They renovated the whole library, and even though it is not finished yet, it is a great place to study. There are new tables and chairs all over the place and it is very modern; however, if you like to study in groups and be loud then the library is not for you. There are now private rooms that you can get that allow you to talk a little bit, but those rooms get taken within seconds of the library opening. It is a good place to study and get a lot of work done.

Breen Student Union 

Do not come here if you need to actually get work done. I love the student union, and I spend a lot of time here throughout the day in between classes to get some casual work done while I am talking to my friends. It is very loud and kind of the hub for students in between classes. It does quiet down a little bit at night but it is still pretty loud and can be difficult to focus on. However, if you have a group project that you need to do then this is a good place to do that because you do not need to worry about disturbing anyone. The student union is a good place to catch up with people while doing some casual work, but do not go there if you have a huge exam the next morning, unless it is 3 a.m. and this is the only building open.

There are no bad places to study on campus, and these are definitely not the only places to do work on campus, but I thought that these are the most popular and they are some of my favorites. There are a lot of good places to study, and honestly, none of them are bad places to do work.

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What to Pack for College

When you are preparing for college for the first time it can be very overwhelming, from worrying about academics to wondering what you will be involved in on campus. One thing that I know I stressed out about when preparing for college was what to bring and what to leave at home. A lot of incoming freshmen tend to overpack and bring things that will not be used more than one time. The most difficult thing that you will find to pack is your clothes. This will vary depending on where you live, because if you live far away then you will need to bring all your cold-weather clothes as well as your warm-weather clothes. However, no matter where you live you should not overpack your clothes because you will definitely end up running out of space and will have no room for other fun things in your room. What I have noticed in my four years at Grove City is that you will wear mainly the same things every week, with an exception of a few outfits. Also, do not bring too many fancy clothes because you will only have to wear them a few times throughout the semester. For guys, bring a couple of collared shirts and a suit just in case, and for girls, it is always good to have a couple of nice dresses for any event that might be happening on campus. It is good to have options but if you wear something one time in a month then it is not worth bringing to school.

Now, for decorations in your dorm room. It is easy to get carried away looking at the advertisements from Target and buying all of the fun dorm decorations. However, all of the decorations that are in those advertisements take up space in the dorm rooms and are not very practical. The dorm rooms are a good size, but they are not overly big. You can fit a seating option in the rooms if you want to, but it is not always necessary. My recommendation is to get things in your room that will make you feel at home, but not feel claustrophobic. For example, nice string lights or a lamp, a futon/small couch, and some way that you relax whether that be a reading corner, TV, etc.

My biggest advice is to not overpack, because it becomes very difficult to find space for all of your things. You want your living space to be comfortable and homey, so do not worry about filling it with things that you will regret having by the end of the first month. Fill it with pictures and things that make you happy!

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When You Have a Significant Other and Your Friends Do Not

I have been with my now-fiancé for almost six years, so we have gone through the majority of high school together and now college as well. My fiancé and I are in the same friend group, we all have the same friends, and we hang out together almost every day. But this can cause some discomfort for our friends since we were the only people dating anyone for a while. It was a big challenge, and it took a lot of conversation and openness with our friends to be able to get to the point that we are at right now. I will be giving you some tips on how to handle this especially as you go into college, which is a big change from high school.

I think the first thing to know is to not be exclusive, but make sure to make time for one another. It is easy to be exclusive at school and just hang out with your significant other for the majority of the time. And do not get me wrong, it is a great thing to be able to hang out and spend quality time with your significant other, but get a good feel for how it is making your friends feel. If you and your significant other are in the same friend group already, then that is a huge bonus because that means you can hang out with your friend groups with your significant other at the same time. This allows you to build relationships with your significant other’s friends while also spending quality time with your significant other.

Also, just open communication with all parties is important. You need to be able to talk freely about the situation and not feel too awkward talking to your friends. Your friends, no matter the gender, will want to spend time with you by yourself, and that is a good thing. It may be hard at first to find the balance that works for your relationship, but being open with your significant other about the expectations you have with spending quality time with your friends will help your relationship with that person and also with your friends.

Coming into college, it is important to not only build your relationship with the person you are dating but also with your friends. It may be challenging, but if you gain one thing from this I want you to learn that open communication will only help you in the long run.

 

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New Chapel Schedule

At Grove City College, every student must attend chapel a certain amount of times per semester, though the amount varies for commuter students and on-campus students. Typically, the normal student is required to attend 12 chapels a semester, which is very doable. For three and a half years, the schedule was chapel Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:25 to 9:50 a.m. and vespers on Sunday evenings. Vespers was a worship service held on Sunday nights for chapel credit.

They just changed the chapel schedule this semester. Now, the chapel schedule is Wednesdays from 11 to 11:50, and we have Formation Friday which consists of small groups that meet around campus and discuss specific topics. You sign up for your small group on Formation Friday, which lasts five weeks, and you discuss topics picked by a professor on campus. Some professors choose to do a book study where you read a certain amount of chapters per week and then discuss it in your small group that week. Small groups are a great way to get more personal with chapel and make it welcoming to conversation and relationship. On Mondays from during 11 o’clock, everyone has a free hour, which is nice if you want to meet with a professor or get some lunch.

After conversations with some of the upperclassmen on campus, a lot of people were uncomfortable with the change because it has been the same for our whole time at Grove City and suddenly has changed our last semester. However, this new chapel schedule leads to closer community on campus so that you can meet and connect with many different people that you would not normally get the chance to connect with. Chapel is a great thing that we have on campus and this new schedule should allow for a great impact on campus.

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What to Know About Hicks Hall and Memorial Hall

There are two men’s freshmen dorms on campus, Hicks and Memorial Halls. There are many pros and cons to each of these dorms, and before you have to choose your rooms, I will help you out in deciding which dorm to pick. My freshman year, back in 2018, I lived in Hicks, so I might be a little biased. But a lot of my best friends lived in Memorial, so I see the charm in Memorial Hall as well.

Memorial Hall

Memorial is no doubt the “nicer” of the two, depending on how you look at it. There is carpet in the hallways, and it definitely is a little bit more comfortable which makes it the more popular choice. There are a lot of perks to living in Memorial–you have a nicer living space, there is a nice green space out front, and the lounges in the building are nice and open so they are a great space to hang out with friends. However, you are a little farther away from the academic buildings and the dining halls which can be a con when you have to walk to dinner in the Grove City winters.

Hicks Hall

Hicks breeds men. At least, that is what my friends and I freshman year would tell ourselves. Hicks is not as cozy as Memorial. There is no carpet, except in the lounges. However, there is upgraded furniture in the lounges in Hicks which is a big plus. The rooms are generally the same size in both buildings which makes the decisions a little tricky. Also, Hicks is much closer to all of the academic buildings on campus, and you live right above the cafeteria, which at times is amazing but other times can be a nuisance because your room might start smelling like onions or whatever they are making that day downstairs. To the naked eye, Hicks might be the worse residence hall, but there are plenty of perks to living in Hicks that will make you want to live there.

Both of these residence halls have many perks, and there is not a wrong choice when you are picking where to live. You will find a great community no matter where you decide to live. But, if you want my opinion, I would lean towards Hicks, but Memorial is great as well.

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How Greek Life Has Prepared Me for Life After College

Coming into college, I had no expectations of joining a Greek group because I was expecting to be fully invested in playing sports. However, after talking with my friends and going to rush events in the fall, I found that Greek groups here are very different than the stereotypical fraternities and sororities at larger schools.

They are very organized and respected on campus because they put on the majority of the fun events that happen at school. I decided to join a fraternity, and it has thoroughly prepared me for my life after college. There are positions within Greek groups that are voted on and people get elected to. These positions are the same as any other club, with a couple of exceptions. I held the role of Interfraternal Representative, which means that I am the representative for my fraternity at meetings with every fraternity. I had to learn to be responsible for a large group of people and represent the group well. This position is also an executive position within the group, which means that I and four other people are chosen to represent the group at a higher level and vote on important things for the group.

Along with having to deal with a large group of people, I had to plan events for the whole school and make sure that they all ran smoothly. For example, we put on multiple fun events every year, including the Monster Mash dance which is a big costume dance for the whole school. It is one of the largest events on campus, and it is our responsibility to coordinate everything with the sorority we put it on with and with the school so we can follow guidelines. We must be able to work with many different groups and people to coordinate large projects.

Another large reason why I am prepared for life after college was because I had the opportunity to meet and interact with many different people. Being in a large group like a fraternity enables you to become comfortable with dealing with a lot of different kinds of people and interact with different personalities, much like what you will have to do in the workplace. I have also found a great community of people that I would not trade for the world, and I know that they will support me in all my stages of life.

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Sports Management at Grove City

A new and popular major at other colleges is Sports Management, and we are now lucky to have this as a concentration under the Business Management major. My freshman year I started out as an education major but then decided that it was not for me, so after freshman year I changed my major to Business Management with a concentration in Sports Management joining the first Sports Management class in Grove City history.

I switched to Sports Management because I knew I loved sports, and I wanted to do something in sports later in life. The sports industry is growing so much, and there are now a wide array of jobs that you can get when you work in sports. The classes here at Grove City prepare you for a career in sports with the diversity of classes. The first Sports Management class that I took was Principles of Sport Management and Marketing with coach Gibson, the athletic director at GCC. In this class, I learned the ins and outs of sports management both in the professional world and in college athletics.

I was able to attain an internship with the Presidents’ Athletic Conference, which is the conference that Grove City plays in for every sport (except for Women’s Water Polo who plays in the Collegiate Water Polo’s Association). I learned so much, and it was because of the Sports Management class that I got my internship. The other classes at Grove City help you, challenge you in your faith, and help you connect your faith with your athletics. Finally, my favorite experience was in Sports Management and Event Practicum. This course is essentially an internship style class where you go and work for the Grove City College athletic department and help in any way that you can. You have a big project during the semester where you run and operate a sports management project. For my project, my partner and I ran the press booth at the Grove City track meet. During this project, I learned a lot and my knowledge grew even more in athletics.