The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: Freshman Experience

  • Freshman FOMO

    Freshman FOMO

    by Nina Hufman

    I recently had an internal crisis: I realized that I am nineteen years old and almost done with my junior year of college.

    I just got out of high school a year ago and I already have to be thinking about real life. I just started college and it’s already almost over. I am most likely going to do a second major and stay in school for two years, partially because I really want a second degree and partially because I feel so unprepared to graduate.

    I was lucky enough to be able to be concurrently enrolled in college classes while in high school. I started taking online classes from a nearby community college when I was a sophomore and was able to earn my Associate’s degree halfway through my senior year. I transferred to Cal Poly Humboldt at eighteen years old as a junior. While I am grateful to have been able to save money and time, my circumstances come with their own set of challenges.

    It’s really difficult to relate to my peers, because my experience is not a very common one. I have one friend who is in pretty much the exact situation that I’m in. She transferred as a junior right out of high school. We talk a lot about how we missed out on the freshman experience and how difficult it is to relate to people who haven’t been in our situation.

    I don’t live in the dorms, I don’t eat in the dining hall, and I don’t have to take any annoying GE classes that have nothing to do with my major. While most people would agree that these experiences are awful, they get to commiserate and bond with others over those experiences.

    All of my friends and the people in my classes are juniors and seniors. I went straight from being in high school to being surrounded by people who are, for the most part, actual functioning adults who have goals and life plans. I feel like I’m so far behind; they’ve had three or four years to figure these things out and I’ve had one.

    My friends also don’t want to do any of the fun Humboldt things that freshmen do when they move here. I want to go to the beaches, go hiking, and explore this beautiful area, but I don’t want to do it alone. My friends have been here for years, they’ve already seen and done all of those things.

    People are usually shocked when they find out my age. They hit me with ‘I thought you were at least 21,’ ‘you’re so mature for your age,’ and ‘wow, you must be really smart.’

    The reality is that I have been a mini-adult since I was fifteen because I had to learn how to interact with adults in my college classes. The result of this is feeling out of place literally all the time. I’m simultaneously too young and too old for everything. I’m ready to start my life and be an adult, but I also feel like I missed out on my own adolescence.

  • Madison Parry has standout year as freshman

    Madison Parry has standout year as freshman

    by Mekiah Glynn

    Madison Parry started playing basketball when she was 6. Now, she’s a freshman on the Cal Poly Humboldt’s women’s basketball team. Throughout this season that lifetime of practice has become apparent with her contribution to the ‘Jacks.

    Parry leads the team with 363 points total for the 2021-22 season and started in 23 games. She said that Family, friends, and her teammates are all factors that keep her motivated to continue pushing herself and playing her best.

    “[The coaches] challenge me every day with practices and games,” Parry said. “They always motivate me to be the best version of myself.”

    The practices involve competition that makes it fun for Parry and gives the athletes a reason to push themselves.

    After all the practice Parry finds her joy in the crowd when she plays home games. She said that her favorite part of the games is the atmosphere.

    “When playing in the Lumberjack arena, It’s really amazing,” Parry said.

    Parry said she appreciates the energy and motivation that having a crowd full of Cal Poly Humboldt students brings and while they don’t have that at away games, Parry believes that the away games bring the team together more.

    “A highlight from this season would probably be the Chico game,” Parry said. The Chico game resulted in a Humboldt win after the game had 3 overtimes. Parry scored 20 points in the game against Chico.

    For the remainder of the season, Parry hoped to finish strong with more wins. “We’re not gonna make the tournament,” Parry said. “But if we win these games we can change other team’s rankings.”

    The Basketball season came to an end for the ‘Jacks on Feb. 26 where they fell to the Cal State San Marcos Cougars 47-75.

  • From Colorado to COVID-19 self-isolation

    From Colorado to COVID-19 self-isolation

    HSU Freshman’s experience catching coronavirus.

    After losing the second half of my senior year to the pandemic and missing out on new friendships at a new school, I begin my college journey isolated in a campus apartment, where my only access to the outside world is through a screen door I’m not allowed to open.

    Coming from dusty and deserted Western-Colorado, all I’ve wanted to do since I was accepted to Humboldt State University is explore. An area surrounded by redwood forests and ocean was a dream alone, but it’s also home to the majestic, wild banana slug – I had to see one! But first, there were a few things to do.

    On Aug. 17, I took my mandatory COVID-19 test and excitedly began moving things into my dorm, arranging a plethora of houseplants and a cozy corner for my pet tree frog, Terra. Very quickly, this became my new home. Aug. 18 was orientation day – I’d quickly adjusted and felt ready to conquer the world at HSU. That afternoon, I explored campus and the forest, making not just one, but an entire slimy armful of banana slug friends. My dream had come true, at the cost of only a few tiny slug-bites.

    Before my parents returned home on Aug. 19, we met at a local coffee shop to say goodbye; that’s when I received the call informing me my COVID-19 test had come back positive. It was as if suddenly the world started spinning; I was speechless. I never imagined it would be me who caught COVID-19; afterall I’m young and otherwise healthy. But this pandemic has taught us what we think we know to be true is often not the case.

    I wish I could say we rushed to my dorm, but instead, we stepped out of line and just stood together in shock. It occurred to me, I’d experienced possible symptoms of the virus earlier in the week – shortness of breath, nausea, low appetite, fatigue and headaches – however, each is also a symptom of my anxiety-disorder and it’s unclear which was the cause. My parents asked questions, but all I could think was of myself and every person I’d seen, connected by a piece in my contaminated puzzle. Suddenly, guilt and anxiety filled my entire being. I began to suffer a panic attack.

    It took a moment to start my car as I fought to catch my breath; my whole body felt as if it were collapsing. I called my boyfriend in Colorado but all he could understand was how afraid I was.

    This fear was never for myself; this fear was for others. Fear for my parents, for my friends, for my boyfriend and his family – fear for people I passed in the grocery store and for those I worked with. I never worried about myself. I worry about the damage I caused, unaware I carried the virus. It all felt like my fault. It felt like I’d let down the entire world.

    I was moved to a new room where I said goodbye to my parents and the company of others for at least a week. Over a thousand miles from home and yet it doesn’t seem nearly as far as the four walls separating me from beginning this new chapter of my life.

    In a state of constant fatigue and boredom, I sleep most of the day, only waking when my phone rings. Doctors, health centers and housing, all call several times each day asking similar questions and often I can’t tell them apart. When you’re only allowed in one place, you don’t have much aside from your thoughts. Is this my fault? Did I do something wrong? Should I stay quiet about it? When will they let me leave this room?

    My new room has a kitchen and a bathroom, a beautiful view through my screen door and plenty of food. HSU staff checks in consistently, doing everything they can to help me through this. I feel like I have a whole team of friends working to guarantee my health and safety.

    Despite everyone’s help, I’m still on my own. My main source of optimism is knowing my isolation is protecting others. Recognizing how our decisions affect others is the first step in preventing the spread. Sure, a mask is uncomfortable, but so is being locked in a room for seven days and so is losing someone you love because precautions weren’t taken.

    For those who don’t believe in COVID-19, it is real. It is harmful. It is possible for anyone to contract. We all believe we’re invincible until we’re not. My battle with COVID-19 continues, but I know someday I‘ll be able to step outside again and I will find another banana slug.

  • First-Year Students Frustrated with Their Education

    First-Year Students Frustrated with Their Education

    HSU freshmen got the short end of the stick after facing blackouts and the COVID-19 pandemic

    Humboldt State students have experienced a crazy school year. From blackouts in October and COVID-19 ending face-to-face classes, it’s been quite the ride for everyone. For freshmen, this was their first experience with college.

    Freshmen learn to live on their own, make new experiences and acclimate to their new surroundings. For the freshmen that entered in fall 2019, it’s been a different story.

    Mikayla Diaz, an environmental science management major from Torrance, California, struggled with scheduling her first semester during the blackouts.

    “It was just really unexpected,” Diaz said. “Starting college, people will tell you how to stay organized and to keep a weekly planner and stuff like that, so everything I heard just kind of went out the window. Like, I wanted to keep a weekly planner but how do I if I don’t even know if I’m having class? It was difficult to make my way and get the bare minimum done.”

    “Keeping in contact with my teachers has been helpful, but it is difficult to do the Zoom thing with my teachers. It’s kind of awkward.

    Mikayla Diaz

    HSU has a prominent science program, and with that comes a lot of lab classes. Megan Bach, a wildlife management major from Boulder, Colorado, admitted that the blackouts affected her lab class.

    “Because of both blackouts I missed two labs,” Bach said, “which I was super bummed about because we didn’t get to do certain activities. Same with the coronavirus too though.”

    COVID-19 has affected students throughout the world by pushing classes that are normally face-to-face online. Classes are conducted from home and teachers have been forced to cut assignments that can’t be done from home or without certain equipment.

    Bach is concerned about the lack of hands-on learning, specifically for her chemistry lab.

    “The teachers are doing a great job. I’m still getting all the information,” Bach said. “It’s just rough because it’s hard, especially from home. I hate online classes. It makes everything harder. I’m a very hands-on learner and I can’t even imagine how they’re gonna do my chemistry lab.”

    Although classes are changing to accommodate online learning, students are missing out most on science classes.

    “Teachers are cutting out a lot of work,” Diaz said. “Keeping in contact with my teachers has been helpful, but it is difficult to do the Zoom thing with my teachers. It’s kind of awkward. For classes—especially lab classes—I need to go to the Arcata Marsh or something and I can’t go and do that because I’m in SoCal. It’s just kind of disappointing.”

    Science students feel they aren’t getting the education they paid for. Science and freshman botany professor, Mihai Tomescu, admits some of his students are struggling with the online format.

    “There’s just a lot of stuff I’m missing out on.”

    Mikayla Diaz

    “Just recently I had a student emailing me and she was a really good student until COVID hit,” Tomescu said. “She was really involved in class, really liked the material, was there in lectures all the time, worked in the lab really hard, she really enjoyed it. She missed an assignment and I checked in with her to see how things were going and she told me that she has really big problems with the internet.”

    Tomescu admits that he can’t directly do anything about the situation or to help in any way with the problems his students are facing, such as internet access.

    “It’s either slow or not available or spotty. Parts of lectures will stop and she’ll have to wait for the internet to come back on and stuff like that,” Tomescu said. “That’s very worrisome, especially when you see that in a student that was doing really well in class and she was excited. I don’t want it to be a missed opportunity.”

    Doing school from home can be frustrating, difficult and demotivating. At times, it’s inaccessible for people that don’t have the resources they need to complete the work. Not only are students missing opportunities on campus or in classes, but they’re also missing out on social opportunities they’ll never get back.

    “It’s really frustrating because I’m not getting the material for my classes,” Diaz said. “There’s just a lot of stuff I’m missing out on.”