Back to College

Twice in the past two weeks I've been lucky enough to cover stories at Southern Oregon University (SOU). First it was a story about student leaders going through emergency training. More recently, I looked at SOU's enrollment numbers that might be the highest they've ever had.

Thursday was move-in day for the freshman and when I went to the Ashland campus to cover the story at nighttime, the students were right in the middle of their Orientation sessions and Welcome activities...something I am more than familiar with after three years of being an Orientation Leader at SMC.


And I was happy to cover the story, but more happy to be back in that kind of college atmosphere. I love college. Everything about it seems great, young adults moving away from home and taking on academic, social, moral/ethical challenges. It's a chance to grow and change and explore. Also, there's the lack of "real world" responsibility and abundance of friends and fun times everywhere. It's fantastic!

There's something magical about move-in day. The realization of the impending brevity of college is finally settling in. These new students (Can't call them "kids." They're not. Most are 18 and are now living on their own) are giddy at the thought of not having chaperones or parents. How could you not love being around something like that? Well, I'm sure there are a lot of reasons that you might not love that, but I usually don't feel them.

Anywho, it as great to be around that atmosphere at SOU. I can definitely see myself working at a college at some point in the future. Maybe working in video, athletics, or student affairs, but I'd certainly want to work with students, helping them find their way.