Northwest Missouri State University - Tower Yearbook (Maryville, MO)

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dvantage Week was the first time that many students had been away from home for an extended period of time. For everyone involved, the week was a time of exploration and testing of new-found freedoms. Students formed many new relationships dur- ing Advantage Week. Some of those relation- ships were destined to lapse over the course of a few weeks or months, but some relationships were more lasting. It was during Advantage Week that a person could gain friendships that would last a life- hecking which classes were still available on a com- puter in the VAX lab of Garrett- Strong were Ivan Spradling ,and peer adviser Jim Davies. Students made changes in :heir schedules with both their adviser and peer adviser.

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Photo Essay • 8 hile trying to fix a conflict between Freshman Seminar and football practice In Steve Sharp ' s schedule, Gary Dry called one of Sharp ' s football coaches to determine a solu- tion to the problem. All fresh- men got a chance to meet one- on-one with their advisers dur- ing Advantage Weel , which al- lowed them to adjust their schedules and ask questions. fter their advisement ses- sion, Gary Dry ' s students went to Textbook Services and picked up their books. Sara Begley got her first taste of the crowded lines and long wait in the basement of Hudson Hall where Textbook Services was located.

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Student Life • 10 Anxious Preparation decisions and responsibilities during tlieir first year of college u I ' S s CO E «» by Kelsey Lowe Nearly 1 ,200 freshmen made the journey into college life during Advantage 97. Some were excited and some were scared, but Advantage gave them all a chance to prepare for a new way of life. We planned a program of entertainment and a variety of classroom situations and then we meshed it all together so they had a wide variety of experiences, Advantage Coordinator Deb Collier said. Sometimes we had a lot of things for them to do, but that was very important for first-time freshmen to be to the point of being overwhelmed so there was constantly something to do and they did not have time to feel homesick. Earlier in the summer. Northwest conducted its Summer Orientation And Registration for the second year to help incoming freshmen find their way a little easier. During SOAR, the students met with peer advisers in their areas of study to arrange their fall schedules. Although Advantage took about six months to organize. Collier said there was one thing for which they were not prepared, I did not think we were prepared for the overwhelming need for computer assistance, Collier said. The students moved into the halls and they immediately wanted to know how to use the computers. I think the academic computing department ' s line was busy for three days solid. Some students found other areas of chaos they were not expecting, such as the ever-changing face of campus, I thought it would be cleaner by the time we got here, Phillip Sensenich said. When I toured here (in spring 1997) they said all the construction would be done by now. Although the construction was still visible, it was the things the students did not see that made Advantage successful. It was amazing how many little things were involved in Advantage, Collier said. What made Advantage a success was when the student did not really see any of those things. They only saw the glitz and glamour and the big parts of it. It was difficult to pull it off, but overall, 1 thought it was a positive experience for them.