By Curtice Taylor, Transcript Correspondent
College freshmen received tips about the transition from university life to home life over coffee and sweet treats Nov. 30.
The Ohio Wesleyan Student Involvement Office hosted a YearOne Coffee House event in the Milligan Hub of Stuyvesant Hall.
The event took place from 7-8:30 p.m, and was open to all OWU freshmen. The event featured free coffee and desserts, background music provided by sophomore guitarist Orion Wright, and a group of upperclassmen who spoke with freshmen.
“We want to strengthen the first-year program,” Susie Long, one of the administrators of the event, said. “It’s nice to have an event like this that welcomes all freshmen.”
Residential Life Coordinator Thea Smekens, another administrator of the event, said, “This was a home-grown event. We reached out to student leaders, and asked them to participate.”
The main focus of the event was to help freshmen prepare for the upcoming return to their homes on the holidays. Freshmen and upperclassmen spoke back and forth about different topics of college. These topics included transitioning back home for the winter break and selecting better housing for the upcoming year.
“I heard about this event from my RA’s white board, and wanted to take a break from studying,” freshman Ben Arnold said. “It was nice meeting upperclassmen and talking with them.”
Freshman K’lynn Partee said, “This event let me see what things to look forward to in the coming years. I was able to meet other people, tap into what college has to offer.”
The Student Involvement Office plans to host more coffeehouse events in spring 2017.
“We’d love for this program to grow further,” Long said. “We want more upperclassmen to reflect on their own experiences and talk about them with first-years.”