Incoming students prepare for SOU classes starting Monday

Ashland, Ore. — Tomorrow is the first day of classes for Southern Oregon University students.

Many freshman and new students are preparing for their next chapter in life while the school is working to give them a smooth transition.

“I’m looking forward to making a lot of great memories,” Freshman student Maggie Alvarez said.

Maggie Alvarez is an incoming Freshman at Southern Oregon University.

Majoring in English, she’s hoping to one day write and produce her own play.

“They’ll teach me all the skills to become a professional writer and a strong writer at that,” Alvarez said.

She says her high school used to take trips to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and it was the theatre atmosphere of Ashland that attracted her to the university.

“I just kind of fell in love with it,” Alvarez said.

Alvarez is just one in a sea of new students trying to get accustomed to the SOU lifestyle.

Several groups on campus are working to make that transition easier.

“The CRC is known as the campus living room,” Rain Haywood said.

The Commuter Resource Center or CRC pays extra attention to incoming students who live off campus or are a non-traditional age.

“We’re just really giving a full list of our services, getting to know our students and providing a place for them to come and letting them know what our campus is like and what Ashland is like in general,” Haywood said.

In addition to computer access, calculator checkout and support for students, the CRC is also offering tours around campus this year.

“We’re always trying to do things better for our students and better our campus as best we can,” Haywood said.

Those efforts seem to be working for students like Alvarez who’s more than ready to start her first year of college.

“I’ve only been here for about three days and it already feels like home,” Alvarez said.

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