Tag: college

Erin Cramer, a 19-year-old college student, reflects back on her freshman year at Rowan University

Posted on by redwanowj5

With the semester coming to an end, I had the pleasure of talking to Erin Cramer, a 19-year-old freshman, about her first year at Rowan University. Cramer is a Physics Education major, which influenced her decision to attend Rowan. While applying for schools, she knew that she wanted a college that would be close to home but still gave her the opportunity to live on campus. After being accepted to Rowan, she looked into their education program and fell in love with it.

Erin Cramer, a freshman at Rowan, holding a turtle at a RAH event. (Photo/Erin Cramer)

After making her decision, the next step was beginning college. Just like anyone else, Cramer was nervous about starting at a new school. Even though she knew some people who attended Rowan already, it was still scary moving to a new place, attending new classes, and making new friends.

However, Cramer is grateful for living on campus her freshman year and taking the opportunity to attend some of the first-week orientation activities. Attending these activates allowed her to get acclimated to the Rowan community and meet new people.

During her freshman year, Cramer lived in Magnolia Hall. Even though this is one of the older dorms at Rowan, she found that she was happy with her placement. Magnolia Hall is a smaller building, meaning that she was able to get to know everyone on her floor. Cramer gives credit to her resident advisor (R.A.) for always setting up activities throughout the year to get to know everyone. This made the living situation feel more comfortable for Cramer since she knew all the other students living around her dorm.

Even though it can be weird moving into a dorm, Cramer shares that the most important thing is to make it feel like home. Knowing that she would be spending a lot of time in her dorm, she made sure to bring elements of her bedroom at home to her dorm. This included things like pictures and other things that reminded her of home. However, she offers two pieces of advice for anyone moving to college. Buy a Britta for filtered water in your dorm and bring fans to help control the temperature in your dorm!

Reflecting back on all the memories of her freshman year, Cramer shares that she enjoyed attending Rowan After Hours (RAH) events. These late-night events are always changing and offer students the opportunity to learn new things. The most memorable event she attended was a night where students got the chance to make s’mores and paint.

Getting involved at college is important to making the most out of your freshman year. Cramer knew this and got involved in different clubs like the Radio Television Network (RTN) club and Fishing Club. Even though she was lenient at first, Cramer came to find that she actually enjoyed Fishing Club and found a new hobby.

Her biggest advice to anyone starting at Rowan would to be confident. Starting a new school can always be scary, but to remember that you are not the only one in this situation. Confidence is key to finding success in your academic career.

Even with Rowan switching over remote learning during the Covid-19 virus outbreak, Cramer felt as though she ended her semester on a strong note. Her professors were very understanding of the situation and were willing to work with students during this unique situation. She was proud of how Rowan handled this situation and is looking forward to being back on campus.

Check out this audio interview to hear Erin Cramer reflect back on her freshman year at Rowan University!

Lindsey Tayne, a student digital journalist at Northeastern University, shares her experiences writing for prospective students.

Posted on by redwanowj5
Lindsey Tayne, owner of “The Husky Chronicles” blog. (Photo/Lindsey Tayne)

Last week, I had the pleasure of connecting with Lindsey Tayne, a 22-year-old student from Melville, New York. Lindsey is currently studying Civil Engineering as a fourth-year student at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. While attending school, Lindsay is a part of the Husky Ambassadors, an on-campus organization where she and many other students act as tour guides and representatives of the university. She works on their Communications Committee working to develop different social media strategies to connect members of the club with prospective students.

In the fall of 2018, Lindsey created “The Husky Chronicles“, a blog covering Northeastern University relevant topics while mixing in personal life experiences. This blog serves as a part of her work with the Husky Ambassadors. Lindsey’s main purpose of the blog is to interact with and inform prospective students about Northeastern. However, pulling from her own personal experience, Lindsey knows the college decision process can be difficult. She believes that by highlighting some of these different moments it adds to the personalized approach in which students can relate to her.

“Talking to high schoolers about how the process went for me and how, after it all, I’m really happy at Northeastern helps them realize that everything will work out for them in the end. I love that I can do that for them,” states Lindsey.

Helping students with the admissions process is just one of the many aspects of her blog that Lindsey finds rewarding. She recalls her own senior year of high school and how stressful it was between applications, grades, and college decisions. Having lived through it on her own, Lindsey knows how valuable hearing from someone with the same experience as you can be. In fact, she loves getting the chance to hear from students who have found comfort in her blog.

“I had one student reach out to me through Instagram…She’s from a few towns over from me on Long Island and was talking to me about the pressure that her parents put on her throughout high school to do well in her classes and get into the best college possible. I had the exact same experience when I was in high school, and we really bonded over that. I think our conversation benefited both of us,” explains Lindsey.

Even while writing her own blog, Lindsey is learning from her experiences. She admits that during the stress of the school year and her major, it is often times challenging to find the time to write new posts. College is a stressful time, but writing her blog inspires Lindsey to find the balance between staying optimistic while at the same time being realistic in her posts. This allows her to continue to encourage students in their own stressful times and help relieve some of their college decision stress.

With rising concerns of the COVID-19 virus in the United States and colleges moving to online instruction, student-run blogs like “The Husky Chronicles” are playing an important role in college decisions. “I’ve heard from a few students who were admitted to Northeastern and are genuinely interested in attending but have never toured the campus. I want to give them the most accurate mental image and understanding of Northeastern as possible, so they can make the right college decision for themselves,” states Lindsey. Even though creating posts are posing to be more difficult while not being on-campus, Lindsey is determined to shift her blog in a direction that works for the current situation.

“I believe that digital journalism is the most effective way at facilitating important information to people,” claims Lindsey. With college campuses closed all over the nation, online tools are being utilized to make up for missed experiences. Students can log online and still find that personal touch that you get from an in-person tour from blogs like Lindsey’s. Instead of admitting defeat, Lindsey is using her voice as a chance to regain some normalcy for prospective students in this unique situation.

For anyone looking to start their own college advice blog, Lindsey encourages them to keep writing and sharing their experiences. Even helping one student can make all the difference. “It may feel sometimes like you are shouting into the void – laboring over posts that nobody cares about or reads. But somewhere, there is someone who genuinely cares about what you have to say and wants to hear more from you,” states Lindsey.

For more information about Lindsey or to read one of her posts, check out her blog “The Husky Chronicles.”