At a small university like Cabrini, most students come from within 100 miles or so. For them, the thought of moving miles away for college is something they would never dream of. However, like any school, Cabrini has a number of students that come here from all over the country.
No matter why they are here, it is a life changing experience. Not having family and friends 10 minutes away or getting to go home every other weekend wears on students. Simply put, people often don’t think about it because they don’t think they could handle it.
“It’s definitely hard accepting that you’re a long way away from home,” Nick Vass, a senior information technology major from Orange, California said. “It’s hard meeting new friends in a completely new place.”
There are many things that out-of-state students have to adjust to and a common one is culture shock. People are different everywhere, in everything from mannerisms to popular foods. When someone up and moves across the country, certain things will take some getting used to.
“I call people ‘ma’am’ and ‘sir,’ it is a southern thing and it’s something I do that you don’t see very often in the North,” Mignon Toppino, a junior religious studies major from Metairie, Louisiana, said. “Sometimes, we get so busy in our day-to-day routine that we forget to slow down and do little things like say ‘hi’ to people.”
That last bit seems to be a common theme among out-of-state students.
“Everyone seems a little more rushed here than back home,” Vass said. His hometown of Orange, California is a suburb of Los Angeles, so when he says that people here seem rushed it carries some weight to it.
But going beyond cultural differences, even the geographical changes can be difficult to adjust to. Climate changes dramatically, and going from coast to coast the environment can change completely. Just take it from Ivan Varela, a junior criminal justice major from Tucson, Arizona.
It is hard going to college far away from home. College is tough enough for students who have family right there to support them, and another thing entirely for those who don’t. Whatever their reason is for moving away, it’s not impossible to pull off.
“Missing out on things like birthdays and family gatherings is really hard,” Varela said. “But in the long run, I know it’s worth it.”
