GOSHEN —
Goshen College students said goodbye to summer Saturday as residence halls across the campus were opened to a new crop of freshmen.
With classes for the 2011-2012 academic year set to kick off Monday, Saturday served as "New Student Day" at the college, were incoming freshmen were invited to stop in to the Church-Chapel Fellowship Hall to complete their check-in process before heading off to the dorms to unload their belongings.
"I’ll be living in the dorms, and it’ll be my first time living away from home, so I’m kind of nervous," said Viola Mutiso, an incoming freshman from Maryland. "It’s going to be different, but I’m adjusting. And I’m pretty excited too."
Mutiso said she likes the look and feel of the small Indiana campus, which is so different from the East African country of Kenya where she attended high school.
"A Goshen College recruiter actually came to our school in Kenya, where I’d been for the past four years," Mutiso said. "It was a Christian school, and I was really interested in continuing my education at a Christian school, so when I heard about Goshen College it just sounded perfect. It’s such a warm environment, and the people are just so friendly. It’s like you want to stay forever."
The excitement of living away from home for the first time was also starting to show on the face of Emily Miller Saturday as the Berne native prepared to make her way to her new dorm room.
"I’m kind of nervous, and I’m kind of excited too, because it’s a big change and a new step in my life," Miller said. "It’s a little scary, but I’m sure it will turn out all right."
Miller’s mother, Kristina, a Goshen College alumnus herself, agreed.
"I’m delighted she chose to attend Goshen," Kristina said. "I’m an alumnus, and my mother was also an alumnus. So I’m excited that she has the opportunity to be surrounded by good people, and to be encouraged by people with the same values and the same supporting base."
As for how she feels about her daughter moving out of the house for the first time, Kristina said while it’s tough, it’s something she’s always know would have to happen eventually.
"I’m OK with it," Kristina said. "You give your children strong roots, and then you encourage them to sprout wings and fly. This is a new transition for her, and she’s ready for it, so I feel confident she’s going to do very well."
Fort Wayne’s Kathy Talley was also putting on a brave face Saturday as she prepared to send her son C.J. off for his first foray into the college experience.
"I already have a daughter that has gone off to college, so I’m not new to it, but it’s bitter sweet," Talley said, pausing a moment to fight back some tears. "You know this is exactly what they should be doing, what you raised them to do, but I’m going to miss him. I know he’s ready though, so while it’s an ending in a way, it’s also a new beginning."
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