“Wow what a huge campus,” was my first thought when I came to Plattsburgh State. Arriving as a transfer student from State University of New York at Delhi was a huge adjustment. While attending Delhi, I was a liberal arts major because I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go in the career route.
As time was getting closer for me to graduate with my Associates in Arts, I knew I wanted to do something in the entertainment business. While talking to friends and family, it was clear that the best career for me was to become a news reporter. When I got accepted into Plattsburgh I was speechless because I knew the school had journalism major in which would help me achieve my goal. When I came to orientation, I was very overwhelmed with how big the campus was.
For starters, Delhi is a very small and limited school. With no more than 3,000 students, there were only two dining halls and had only six on campus housing dorms. Since this school has almost double the amount of students and housing, it was a enormous adjustment.
One of the most difficult parts was finding my classes. There hasn’t been a day this week that I didn’t go the wrong way and get lost.
What is so great about Plattsburgh is that, everyone here is helpful and willing to guide you to the right way. I truly felt like a tourist because I was asking anyone “Do you know where Hawkins Hall is?” Luckily I was always able to make it to class just in time before it started.
Another characteristic that distinguished Delhi from Plattsburgh was the amount of dining halls. There are so much food choices in this school that I at times don’t know where to choose from.
I was so used to the same two dining halls that Delhi had that it was almost a miracle that there were so many choices when I got to Plattsburgh. There is a very fine difference of being a transfer then being a freshman. In my opinion, since I knew about dorm living and being independent I wasn’t new to the workload or self-determination. Over the summer, there was a transfer orientation that I came to in Plattsburgh. Since we most of the students were both sophomores and juniors, they skipped many information that pertained to new comers in college. One of the negatives about being a transfer student is everyone thinks you are a freshman since there is only a minimal amount of transfers coming in compared to the freshman.
Furthermore, Delhi was a great school with many great accomplishments and career routes; unfortunately it just wasn’t for me. One of the hardest things about transferring is leaving all the wonderful people that I meet in Delhi. Not knowing anybody in this school was very unusual to me since I was well known in Delhi. With the help of clubs and my suitemates, I was able to make friends easily, but I still feel like there is something missing. Since the school year just started I am not as used to it yet or the students.
Overall, my experience so far is mainly positive. I am in the major that I’ve worked so hard to be in and I am finally doing what I love, which is writing and being able to report back to my community. The huge campus, and different food choices are was an immense difference but within a few more weeks I will hopefully adjust. Every end has a new beginning and this my new beginning.
Email at Abena Boateng at cp@cardinalpointsonline.com
