by Jessi Walker
My first year at Kutztown University is technically not over yet, but it is almost over with finals week looming in May. It went by faster than I imagined, and I learned a lot during my time here. Being at a real university is a completely different and fresh experience compared to high school, even with Dual Enrollment courses.
My first days
I moved in earlier for my first week because I participated in the Student Success Academy. I mostly signed up for the opportunity to move in before the other freshman or first year students, but I was glad I did. There was some information I learned that was helpful, but they also had a good number of events that were fun. I enjoyed seeing a one man drag show, and I also had a fun night dancing.
The academy was then over and that Sunday was a bit miserable with having to take a class photo in the heat as well as other activities outside, and by the end of it I was sweaty and miserable, but that was the only damper of the week.
My confidence as a student
My first semester I had American Genre Film, Performance of Literature, General Psychology, First Year Seminar with a focus on horror, and Friendship in Western Cultural Texts. American Genre Film was an online class, which terrified me. During my junior year of high school, which was during COVID, the school system was hybrid but mostly online. You could only go to school one day a week, and even when you went, the focus was all on the online Zoom class lecture, which lasted for 30 minutes, and then the rest of the time you just had to do your work. I chose to just stay online, but the online class format was not good for me that year. I had really bad mental health issues, and I felt like I couldn’t do my work. I went from an A/B student to D/Fs. I had to try to rebuild myself my senior year from that experience, and gained confidence again from going in person, but still not online. I wasn’t going to take an online class ever again, but Kutztown created the schedules for the students in their first semester and they placed me in American Genre Film.
I was upset that it was online, and I felt like I would fail the class. My mom was instantly saying no to it as well, until she noticed the professor for that class also taught my FYS class. She figured me seeing and knowing him in an in person class would make the difference with my motivation. I wasn’t sure about it, and even sent him a concerned email asking about it. He said in the email, “I’ll be honest with you: if you’re nervous about doing well in an online class because of past experiences, drop it.” I ended up keeping the class though, with much hesitation, and it was probably my best class. I enjoyed the film assignments, and I learned a lot in an online class which was unexpected. I got a 100% overall for both of his classes that semester. It made me get over my issues with online courses, and I signed up for some in the spring, and again for next fall. My online class this semester, which is Spanish 104, is also going well, even though it is in more of a daily assignment format.
Housing
Most of Kutztown’s first year students are in traditional dorm halls with no AC, and that was the case for me too, but I was in a nice hall on campus that had AC at least in the lounges. I luckily did not get too hot, as my room was on the first floor, and if I did get a little hot I had that option.
I was a bit unlucky in the roommate department though, as my roommate complained about me without coming to me first, and stole my fan on the way out. However, it was nice to have a single room from October till the end.
My housing for next year is set up, and I’ll be in a residence hall with 4 large single rooms, a living room, and 2 bathrooms. I met a really cool group for next year, and we hung out a lot so far. I am looking forward to housing for next year, and I like that our future room will be in a corner by stairs.
Professors
I’ve had a lot of cool professors this year. They’ve been overall nicer than I expected. When I was going through the roommate situation, my sleep was messed up, and I accidentally missed a performance for Performance of Literature. I was very upset about it, but she was understanding and let me make it up, and she also was worried I was sick from how much I slept the night before so she gave me advice for things I should do to make sure I wasn’t sick like checking my temperature. My Friendship in Western in Cultural Texts professor invited me to read at a composition conference held on campus, which I appreciated. He was very straightforward with me, but funny about my tendencies of not revising for higher grades. In my classes this semester, my Creative Writing and Copy Editing professor seems to enjoy my writing work.
Class Picking
My class selection and advisement appointments have gone smoothly so far. As a first year student, I had a few issues with my first, original schedule, but the registrar office instantly changed my schedule to two classes I wanted instead before I stepped foot on campus. When I was assigned my first advisor for my English degree, I met with her on zoom before advisement happened to introduce myself to her, and that went well. I added a Professional Writing major before advisement, but the paperwork didn’t go through till February. However, I met my Professional Writing advisor before my English advisement appointment, and so he approved of my classes as well. My first round of class picking went well, as I got everything I needed and wanted, and didn’t have to go with any alternatives. My advisement for the fall went well, especially since both advisors were finally official. I only had to go with one alternative for class picking, which was Literature and Psychology, but I was planning to go for it anyway. One class filled up I was planning to take for a gen ed, but the professor manually let me in to take it. That was so lucky.
Campus Involvement
I have been involved in various clubs on campus, especially Shoofly Literary Magazine, which is the literary magazine on campus with student submissions of fiction and poetry. I joined Shoofly right away, and I enjoyed being a part of it. I was a fiction reader for the magazine, which is someone who is a part of the team to decide on the short story pieces. I then joined the copy editing team in the spring, which I was nervous about because I am not an incredible editor. I did pretty well though, and survived all 3 rounds of copy editing. I voted on the new cover, and I am excited about it because it looks very cool. Last Thursday, eboard elections were held and I won the position of Head of Fiction / Vice President, which I am excited for. Our launch party is coming up soon!
I also joined Her Campus this school year in November, and I became an editor in the spring. I now edit articles, which is better for my time management.
I recently joined Actors Creating Theatre, and I am a part of a show called A Horse Walked Into A Bar. I have a small role, but I enjoy being a part of a theatre production again. The show is coming up really soon, and I hope it goes well.
I also wrote an article for the Library’s Archive Magazine about famous alumni from Kutztown.
Overall, my first year at Kutztown went pretty well. I had some rough moments, but I also enjoyed my time here, and I know it will get better and better as I continue to grow into myself as a Golden Bear.