I think I surprised everyone when I decided to go to Michigan State, 854 miles away from my home in Georgia. I had always been a homebody and loved being near my family. When I was little, I would get too homesick for sleepovers or summer camp, and even when I was in high school, I never wanted to be far away from home for long.
When I visited Michigan State as a senior in high school, I fell in love with the campus, the classes, and the atmosphere. Everyone seemed friendly, but I was overwhelmed by the size of the school and how different it seemed from my little high school where I knew all of my classmates well.
Luckily, I happened to meet a Citizen Scholar when I was on campus, and even before I decided on MSU, I knew I would be a Citizen Scholar if I came. The little things about the program like the mentorship and network of students and small classes together should really be huge selling points for students. They are often what students enjoy about the program the most.
My first few months at Michigan State were a huge transition, and even though I was succeeding academically, I felt incredibly homesick, just as I had feared. I was a little shy and found it difficult to introduce myself to strangers or ask someone to eat lunch with me. But having classes with members of my CS cohort ended up being what changed MSU from my school to my home.
During the fall semester of my freshman year, I was lucky enough to have three classes together with one of my friends from CS. We had class together every day, which made it feel a lot more like high school at a time when I was desperate for a sense of familiarity. Another one of my CS friends and I went to church together every week. I saw classmates at hockey games and in the dining hall, while I was riding my bike and at social events on campus, at restaurants on Grand River and working out at the IMs.
The best part was every Citizen Scholar whom I saw would say hello to me. They’d invite me to sit with them at Sny-Phi or get a combo at Sparty’s. All of those little things helped erase my homesickness and gave me the warm comfort of seeing a friendly, familiar face at a point when I was feeling pretty lonely.
Now that I’m back home, I get awfully sentimental thinking of those little hangouts and meetups. In the same way I was homesick for Georgia, now I’m homesick for MSU and all of the friends I made as a Citizen Scholar.
Citizen Scholars adds great academic opportunities and opens all kinds of doors to students, and I love that too! But as a lonely, far-from-home freshman, the community meant the most.
Maybe you’re a current student who doesn’t really feel like MSU is home yet, or maybe you’re a potential student who worries about being far from home or at a big school. Citizen Scholars can help with that. Challenge yourself by attending one of our community events (if you’re a current student), or reach out to a fellow scholar. You can always contact one of our interns or staff members. Lacie is always available to chat or answer questions at kunselm1@msu.edu, or send her a text at 478-361-6569.