Take a moment to meet Conner Neal, commuter student, SOAR Leader and enthusiastic Bear!

Tell us about yourself. I was born in Beijing, China, and adopted when I was four years old. I am from a family of 9 children. I have five brothers and three sisters, with six of them being adopted from China as well.

I am an Information Technology major with a focus in Cybersecurity. I am entering my sophomore year this upcoming fall semester.

What resources would you like to share with incoming commuter students?  The Office of Student Engagement and the Bear CLAW are the best resources for commuter students. They helped me stay academically and socially engaged on campus.

What was the hardest about being a commuter student?  It is sometimes hard to stay on top of campus events and activities just because I am not constantly on campus, so sometimes I miss out on some fun events

How did you get involved as a commuter student? I went to the Office of Student Engagement, and they helped me find groups and organizations on campus that I was interested in. I also made sure to try and talk to as many people in my classes so that I had a lot of on campus connections

You are a SOAR leader. Why did you decide to apply to be a SOAR leader?  I remember my SOAR experience, and was so grateful for everything the SOAR program did for me. I wanted to be able to provide that same experience for other people.

What advice would you give to the family of a commuter student?  Allow your student to have more freedom and opportunities to experience college. Still be involved with them, but make sure there is space for your student to grow.

What advice would you give to a commuter student? Allow yourself enough time to get to classes, roughly 20-30 minutes for parking and getting to classes. Also, be willing to chase after your interests so that you can make Missouri State a second home. You will truly enjoy being a Bear!