During Loretha Cain’s sophomore year at Missouri State she’s been both a student and a teacher – passing on the important lessons she learns about media and communication in the classroom on to girls at Boys and Girls Town.
“Be prepared to meet new people.”
After his first year at Missouri State University, marketing major Alonzo Perez has some advice for new students: “Be prepared to meet new people. Everyone meets new people, but it takes a while to just find your true friends.”
“I had a few bumps in the road, but I jumped over those hurdles.”
After her first year at Missouri State University, Caitlin Polley has found her calling: “It [my major] was originally mathematics education, but throughout my first year, I have learned that math wasn’t my calling and special education was.”
“I can’t believe my freshman year of college is almost over.”
Loretha Cain’s first year at Missouri State was a time of growth and transition: “My first year was exciting, but the first semester was hectic moving from St. Louis to Springfield, not knowing what to expect, my first time leaving home that far for a long period of time.”
“I can’t wait to come back next year.”
Coming from Minnesota, Joey Saba didn’t know many people before arriving at Missouri State. But, it’s the people he met at MSU that made his first year of college a success.
“Getting involved really is what makes your first year go so smooth.”
Looking back over her first year at Missouri State, Kirby Williams can’t say enough about getting involved. “Getting involved—I know I stress that a lot—but it really is what makes your first year go so smooth and go by so fast.”
“I made some really good friendships there.”
As Hayden prepared to head home to Australia for the summer, he sat down to talk about his first year at Missouri State. Despite being far from home, he said that the new friends he made eased the transition.
“My senior year I knew I wanted to get away.”
Joey Saba dribbled, passed and served his way through high school. He even started a ping pong team, so it’s not surprising that he wanted to continue blending sports and school.
“I can’t believe I almost missed this opportunity.”
“Everybody describes college as the best years of your life. It’s one of those things that you need to savor every experience, from the stress to the fun to the late nights to the feeling like you’re not going to make it. It’s all part of this great experience you are going to have for the next four or five years.”
“I would like to be the ‘idea’ person…”
Things have already changed for Alonzo Perez during his first year at Missouri State. The Monett, Mo., native started college with an undeclared major, but within one year, he found his passion for advertising and marketing.
“I liked the campus…”
Coming into college, Loretha says she was nervous about her classes because of how her high school teachers had talked about college. Surprisingly, she found them to not be as terrifying as she expected.
“I don’t want to pick up any twang.”
Hayden Sander dreams of becoming a professional soccer player. His passion for soccer or football, as the New Zealand native calls it, brought him to Missouri State.