Two months since 2,100 freshmen arrived on campus for Welcome Weekend, the members of the class of 2029 have reached the midway point of their first semester of college. With midterm season over and Thanksgiving fast approaching, Notre Dame freshmen have had some time to reflect on their first few months on campus.
Freshman Kate Eames, a global affairs major and Farley Hall resident from Oregon, shared she felt immediately welcomed on campus, despite the culture shock from moving across the country.
“The dorm culture really helped me adjust at first. Over Welcome Weekend, all the activities helped me forget I was in a whole new place 4,000 miles from my home,” Eames said.
According to Eames, Notre Dame’s inclusive residential community has made a positive impact on her and allowed for a smooth transition to campus.
“I can tell that because we have to live in these dorms for three years, everyone is very committed to making it feel like a home and a family,” Eames said. ”I feel like I have a really good support system here, which has been so crucial in fitting in and trying to get settled.”
Despite the support of dorm communities, some first-year students said it still took time to acclimate to the workload of their new curriculums. Finance major Caitlin Vengazo, a resident of Johnson Family Hall, noted that she expected to have much more time for herself than she has had so far.
“I thought I was going to have a lot more free time on the weeknights that is now filled with studying and homework,” Vengazo said. ”At home, I could be done with homework at a reasonable time if I wasn’t in sports. Now, my time goes by so much faster during the day.”
Freshman Josie Hennes, a biochemistry major and resident of Badin Hall, agreed. She said she hopes to learn to manage her time more efficiently in the future.
“Finding balance is my biggest goal for next semester. I feel now like if I’m not doing schoolwork, then I’m not being productive. I need to realize that there are other things to do that are still productive for you,” Hennes said.
Hennes and Vengazo both attended Maine South, a public high school in Park Ridge, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Both noted experiencing a significant cultural transition going from a public high school to a Catholic university, despite being only a few hours from Notre Dame.
“A lot of people here say grace before their meal, which is a small thing, but it always reminds me to do that now,” Hennes said.
The integration of faith and academic life may have been familiar to students from private Catholic schools, but for Vengazo and Hennes, it has been a new feature to grow accustomed to.
“It’s nice to have things like the Grotto or routine Mass times in your dorms that are intentionally made available to help you practice your faith,” Vengazo said. “But theology has been an adjustment because many freshmen have already taken it in high school and are able to draw biblical allusions that aren’t really clear to me.”
The adjustment to a new environment has also been accompanied by a shift in behavior for Vengazo and Hennes, even down to the clothes they wear.
“I feel like people just dress a lot nicer. I was used to dressing up once a week in high school for my personal enjoyment, but here, I feel like if I’m not wearing jeans, I look like a slob,” Vengazo said. ”Maybe it’s because so many people come from schools that had uniforms.”
Hennes shared that her academic and spiritual habits were not the only things to change, but her relationship with friends from home also attending Notre Dame did too.
“We don’t see each other often without planning lunch, it takes more intentional planning now than in high school,” Hennes said.
For Eames, the workload has been the biggest challenge so far. She said she hopes to improve her habits in future semesters.
“With a little more time, I’ll learn when to say no and how to prioritize my time, and that’s the key to getting my work done on time and getting better sleep,” Eames said.
