Move-in day at Arkansas Tech University is a choreographed exercise in moving thousands of people — including students, their families, staff and faculty — as efficiently as possible.
Incoming freshmen and their families began the process of checking into residence halls at 7 a.m. Saturday. A natural progression of activities moved them from there to orientation check-in to a convocation welcoming them to the ATU community.
Just below the surface of move-in day, beyond the fine-tuned schedule that is refined and improved year after year, resides the humanity of the occasion.
Excitement. Uncertainty. Independence. Separation anxiety. Determination to succeed.
All of these concepts were on the minds ATU freshmen as they arrived at the W.O. Young Building Ballroom on Saturday morning to receive their orientation materials and pose for a photo with Jerry the Bulldog, campus ambassador.
“I want to make the best of my education,” said Mackenzie Avant, a freshman graphic design major from Sheridan. “I am really excited to come here and be kind of close to home, but actually get a little further away. It was the best decision I could make. Being away from my family, being my own person for a little while and making my own decisions is exciting. Making my own friends and finding my group of people is really going to be fun and interesting. I also want to find clubs and groups that will build upon what I did in high school.”
Avant’s enthusiasm about beginning her ATU adventure was tempered by the realization of all that she was leaving behind.
“I’ve been so scared, and it’s just been a pit falling in my stomach,” said Avant. “Leaving my friends and my parents and my teachers…it feels like a little piece of me is falling apart. How could I leave all these people I’ve grown so close to? But then again, it feels like a new beginning. This is where I am supposed to be. I think the anxiety is a good thing. The (ATU) freshmen, we’re growing to be adults and this is our new chapter. I’m excited to do this.”
Larry Jacobs, a freshman from Maumelle, is embracing the anxiety of a new beginning.
“I think it’s normal to be nervous about something new that I’ve never done in my life,'” said Jacobs about the transition to ATU. “Learning the campus and learning how to balance my job with school, studying and fun is nerve-wracking. Besides that, I feel ready for college.”
Jacobs said the welcoming campus atmosphere and the ease of the application and admission process confirmed that ATU was the right university for him. He said he is excited to make friends and build lifelong bonds, but his primary focus is on earning his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree in business data analytics.
“I like working, so getting my degree and being able to work in the world I want to work in is going to be very exciting,” said Jacobs. “I’m an analytical person and I love math, so those go hand-in-hand with business data analytics. Earning my degree will mean everything. Only one member of my family has graduated from college. My degree will be my foot in the door to my real life after college, so it will be one of my biggest accomplishments.”
Avant is ready to put in the work necessary to reach that accomplishment.
“I know these next four years are going to be much harder than I think they’re going to be,” said Avant. “The fact that I finish and do something that not everyone could do is going to mean a lot to me. Finishing high school was a big deal because not everyone did it. Completing college is going to be one more milestone.”
