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

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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.

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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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Advantage ' 97 ' 11 Mohammed Bilal speaks about his Twelve Steps to Becoming Culturally Diverse. Some of his steps included traveling, reading and learning other languages. Bilal, a former cast member of MTV ' s The Real World, used the fame he got from the show to publicize his message. Photo by Sarah Phipps CassandraJohansen signs upto join Campus Activity Programmers at the Merchant Organization Fair. The fair gave students the chance to get involved with groups like CAPs, which used the fair as a chance both to recruit members and publicize various events CAPs brought to campus. Photo by Lesley Thacker Carrying box after box, freshmen move into Millikan Hall. The Cat Crew, which consisted of several upperclassmen who lived in the residence halls, arrived a day early to help students move in. Cat Crew was very helpful with moving really big objects, Amy Blunk said. Advantage ' 97 allowed freshmen to move in 2 days earlier than upperclassmen. Photo by Amy Roh • 57% female • 4-37o male • Keeidence hall with the moet freehmen: Diet- erlch • Total money awarded to Uni- ersity Freslden- tial Scholarship of I Merit recipients: about $64;000 • Total money awarded tc University Fresidenttal Scholarship of Merit eemifinalists. about $34:000