The saying goes, “the early bird catches the worm,” and on the April 24th SOAR, I was the early Hawk!
I woke up at 6:00 a.m. and left my house at 7:00 a.m. Saturday morning. After my two and a half hour drive to Murfreesboro, North Carolina, I made my way to Student Orientation Advising and Registration – we call it SOAR – at Chowan!
As we pulled into campus, butterflies began to flutter in my stomach. I walked toward the registration tent and everything came alive! College was once so intimidating, but after SOAR it’s become less scary.
There were so many smiling faces and blessed greetings were all around me. I did not see one familiar face in my future class as the opening program began. But, once we divided into small groups I was able to learn more about student life and academic life at Chowan and I got to meet many new friends in the Chowan University Class of 2014!
At first I realized that we all must have felt the same way since our group events were quiet. When we went to eat lunch, I decided to introduce myself (with the help from my Admissions counselor) to my new classmates. I met a few guys from the Code Blue Dance Team at Chowan. I met international students who were from Africa, and I met students involved with a little bit of everything at Chowan.
Everyone was so nice and welcoming – I began to feel right at home! After lunch we went to the Kerr Gazebo to play games and learn more about life as a student at Chowan. I learned how to play corn hole and ladder ball: two games I had never even heard of. I watched current students that were not even involved in SOAR flood the campus and enjoy the games with us new students.
The butterflies in my stomach flew away and anxiety about my next step was gone. I know I belong at Chowan: a small university with so many opportunities and ways to get involved. When I left campus after SOAR I had new friends and knew without a doubt that this is the place I’m meant to be. I’ll move into my residence hall room on August 21st, and begin a new chapter in my life. I know it’s the right step. I’m now a Chowan University Hawk. We don’t flutter, we SOAR!
C-U in August,
Isabel, Class of 2014
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