Feeling the freshmen presence in Madison is inescapable.
Each year, the campus is showered with 6,000 or so new faces; 17 and 18-year-olds who, for some reason or another, have set a goal to receive a college degree and have chosen Madison as the place to do it. For some, it is the first time they will have been away from home. Whatever the situation, this is their initiation into true adulthood; this is the first chapter in their independent lives.
And even if they have already had some of the experiences for which college is infamous: drinking, late nights and partying. If they experience it now, it will be on a whole new level.
For some this will be a road of success, for others it will be a road of challenges. One thing is certain: Regardless of the destination, UW-Madison will help craft 6,000 very unique experiences this year.
So begins part one in the story of the college experience: the life of a freshman. The previous few weeks began to tell the tale: the period of transition. Yet while some freshmen have probably already made a steady crossing-over, others are still testing the waters.
It is impossible to gauge this experience and equally impossible to try summarize it. That is not the purpose of this series, which will run periodically throughout the school year. The intent of this series is to try capture the stories of a select group of freshmen as they live through their first year at UW-Madison. Approximately a dozen freshmen have been generous enough to offer the rest of the campus a glimpse into their lives. They are not boastful of their stories, but simply wish to share them with others. Perhaps it is an attempt to show other freshmen that they are not alone in these experiences, and equally, it will be an attempt to remind the rest of campus of some of the timeless experiences that define the year of a freshman.
This week begins by telling the stories of five freshmen as they make the transition from high school to UW-Madison. Wednesday will provide a glimpse into the lives of Jackie Bateman and Aaron Rea, two freshmen who although know nothing of the other, are asking themselves quite similar questions, such as what they miss most from home and what they have recently come to appreciate about being away.
On Thursday, three more freshmen will continue to answer those and other questions during their first few weeks away from home. The five come from towns both around Wisconsin and from out of state. One already plans to go to medical school, another has not yet chosen a major. One is trying to keep busy by exploring what Madison has to offer, another can't seem to find enough time in the day. As we begin to follow these and other freshmen throughout their year, there is one common denominator that they all share. Almost everything they are feeling, experiencing and learning they are doing for the very first time in their lives. We wish them luck and anxiously await their tales, both touching and perhaps amusing, of their freshman year. Welcome to Madison.
