Headline: Bookends: Reflections from a GV freshman and a senior

By Alyssa Rettelle

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Freshman:

Some students come to college knowing exactly what they want to do. They’ve decided their major and already know what they want to get involved with. Others, however, take some time to figure everything out.

Olivia Corder is a freshman at Grand Valley State University this semester. She was born on the east side of Michigan and went to Monroe, Wis., for high school.

“I’d heard a lot of great things from family about Grand Valley, and one of my cousins was already going here and he said he liked it,” Corder said.

Corder has already declared her major as social work and is contemplating adding a minor in sociology. She describes herself as outgoing and a little scatterbrained.

“My first week was awesome,” Corder said. “My dorm bonded really quickly thanks to our awesome RA.”

But the first few weeks of college don’t come without a little confusion and adjustments.

“The hardest thing to get adjusted to was the fact that you are always near someone, especially at night,” Corder said. “I’m not used to so many people.”

Of course, moving to a new environment has its own challenges.

“I was kind of scared to eat at any of the food places because I didn’t know how meals worked,” Corder said.

In high school, she was very involved in the theater program. She participated in many plays, either on stage or behind the scenes. She’s hoping to continue to do some things with theater at GVSU.

Corder is also hoping to get involved in the swim club. 

“I swam during my freshman and sophomore years in high school but I had to give it up so I could focus more on school and my job,” she said. “But I’m hoping to get back to (swimming) regularly.”

Despite only being at GVSU for about three weeks, Corder is already enjoying her time at the university.

“I like that there is always something to do. There is always somewhere you can go, whether you want to be alone or with other people,” she said. “And at Grand Valley it’s really easy to find people who like the same things you do or to discover new things.”

She already knows that three years from now things won’t be the same. In fact, she’s already starting to see some changes in herself.

“I think I am going to change between now and my senior year,” she said. “I’m already starting to see it.”

But she isn’t focused that far on the future just yet.

“Right now, I’m just hoping to accomplish keeping my grades up and being able to understand what I learn.”