Yesterday, as a member and officer nominee for the open Public Relations position for Phi Theta Kappa, I volunteered to assist with NWTC Welcome Days. (I say this because even though I was not working to promote Phi Theta Kappa, I would have never gotten involved if not for my fellow Phi Theta Kappans.) So with the scent of "new t-shirt" (volunteers wore aqua t-shirts to identify ourselves to the new students) and the commons swarming with new students, I set about my business to assist with campus tours. It felt similar to being a Senior in High School and helping out the new Freshmen. In the past I have volunteered at an elementary school in a Kindergarten classroom, so I am familiar with the rewarding feeling of doing something just to do it. So many things in my life are done for a paycheck or for my own family, that to show some kindness to strangers was a really different thing. Making the new students feel welcome and not so alone is really important to our College. If we can help them to feel comfortable with this new adventure, regardless of whether they are just out of high school or if they are a returning adult student like myself, it will make NWTC a better place. It will make our school much more appealing. Unlike my own son's experience, which will include moving into a dorm in a few weeks, there is often much less camaraderie and sense of family built at a two-year facility like ours because we do not offer housing. Even at a four-year college, students that don't live on campus often feel as if they are "on the fringes." My goal yesterday was to squash that feeling for these new students. Not only did I want to simply walk them around pointing out classrooms and the library, but I also wanted to share with them what NWTC has done for my life and what we have to offer as far as activities and involvement. I wanted these new students to know that student involvement will make their experience more rewarding, to reassure them that they WILL make many new friends (and perhaps a more diverse group of friends) and that organizations like Phi Theta Kappa will recognize and honor their academic achievements. A mother of one of the new students who is going into Marine Engineering told me she was part of the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. She is a Big Sister to a high school student interested in the Paralegal Program. She had some questions for me and before we parted ways I gave her my contact information so that her Little Sister could get in touch with me if she wanted more information to get a sense of what the classes were like. It felt good to be able to offer that and maybe I could make a difference in the life of a young person. (Something my teenage self could never imagine doing !!!!)
While I was walking around with new students, I saw the husband of a very good friend, who is a welding instructor at NWTC. Volunteering with me was Casey Fryda's co-worker/counterpart whose name escapes me (short term memory loss begins in your 40's kids!!), who said to me "You write the blog!" when I introduced myself and made me feel like a celebrity!! If anyone doesn't know this, Casey is my supervisor for this blogging position. Hi Casey! One of my very best friends, whom I met my first semester at NWTC by some twist of fate, appeared in the commons to find that one of her primary instructors was assisting with my group as well. Along with my dear friend, was a very new friend who does not currently attend our school, who might possibly have been impacted enough to consider going to school here. It was good to see familiar faces, and good to see all of the new faces. I definitely look forward to the upcoming semester and appreciate the opportunity my return to college has given me. I am glad I did it - college, volunteering yesterday, and opening myself up to meeting new people and expanding my view of the world from the tunnel vision it had become in years past.
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