Students Must Acclimate To Change

Springdale Seniors Move Out Of State For College

Emily Cowing, 18, finds quotes she wants to memorize in order to use in a test on "Death of a Salesman" Wednesday, April 24, 2013, at Springdale High School.
Emily Cowing, 18, finds quotes she wants to memorize in order to use in a test on "Death of a Salesman" Wednesday, April 24, 2013, at Springdale High School.

SPRINGDALE— Nathan Hernandez said he will be 27 hours away from home.

Uniqia England is moving halfway across the country leaving her large family in Springdale.

Best friends Jessica Rood and Emily Cowing will have to share secrets by text or email rather than in person.

The graduating seniors will face the challenge of many students as they seek ways to get used to new surroundings far from home.

West Point cadets are expected to acclimate to the school quickly, said Frank DeMaro, public affairs specialist. The students move from civilians to soldiers on their first day. The only help they get is advice from older students on how to adjust, he said.

“It’s a major commitment,” said Hernandez, a Har-Ber senior. “For me this is just another chance to further my education.” The move, however, means leaving behind his grandmother, younger brothers and younger cousins, he said.

Hernandez said he wants to study economics and humanities or engineering. He also wants to go to law school, he said.

Before law school, however, there is the Army, Hernandez said.

At A Glance (w/logo)

Springdale Graduation

Both ceremonies will be held today at Bud Walton Arena at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

• 1 p.m.: Springdale High School

• 4 .p.m.: Har-Ber High School

Source: Springdale School District

“I want to serve my country,” he said.

He hopes West Point will help him develop spiritually, physically, academically, in leadership and in character, Hernandez said.

Hernandez said he understands he is committing 12 years of his life to West Point and the military.

“It’s weird to have everything planned out, but comforting to know I’ll have a job coming out and I’ll be debt free,” he said.

Springdale To Yale

Uniqia England is moving halfway across the country, leaving her parents and six siblings behind.

She spent a lot of time as a child taking care of her younger siblings, so going to Yale University is a big step, she said.

“I just try not to think about leaving my little brothers,” she said.

England, a Har-Ber senior, said she lived in Washington, North Carolina and Florida before moving to Springdale. That experience makes her less nervous about going away to college, she said.

“It’s very normal for me to be on long car rides and stay somewhere where I’m not familiar,” she said.

Yale requires incoming freshman to attend orientation before they start classes, according to the university’s website. This gives the students an introduction to the school.

England said her biggest worry is money.

“I’m just really worried about paying for it,” she said.

England will major in either global affairs or international relations with a focus on Asian studies, she said. She wants to study China and study abroad.

Friends Part Ways

Best friends Jessica Rood and Emily Cowing, seniors at Springdale High School, look forward to college, but not to being so far apart, they said. They will have to find ways to stay in touch.

The girls said they want to visit each other, but they won’t be geographically close. Rood will major in theater at Vassar College in New York while Cowing s will major in chemical

At A Glance

Higher Education

• U.S. Military Academy at West Point was founded in 1802 as a school focused on training students to enter the Army.

• Yale University was founded in 1718 in New Haven, Conn. It can be traced as far back as 1701 when it was created to teach a European liberal education.

• Vassar College was founded in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., in 1861 as a liberal arts college. Vassar only enrolls undergraduate students.

• University of Minnesota -Twin Cities was founded in Minneapolis in 1851. The university offers a variety of studies, including medicine, business, liberal arts, architecture, engineering, science and law.

Source: Staff Report

engineering at University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

Rood said she will miss her family, but wants to move away from Arkansas for a new experience.

Vassar has a geographically diverse student population, said Ben Lotto, dean of freshman. Sixty-one percent of the student population are from out of state.

“She’ll be a duck out of water with many other ducks out of water,” he said of Rood. “They realize they’re not the only one from far away.”

She’s worried most about adjusting to the weather in New York, Rood said.

“I’m not a cold weather person,” she said.

Cowing said she likes cold weather and looks forward to the weather she’ll experience in Minnesota.

She was born in Maine and moved to Connecticut before moving to Springdale, Cowing said. She said she isn’t nervous about going away to college, but she said she won’t be sure how she feels until she gets to college.

“I don’t think it’ll hit me until the first month I’m away,” she said.

The University of Minnesota offers not only student orientation, but also a Welcome Week to help students get adjusted, according to the university’s website. Welcome Week helps freshman make friends and explore the campus before they start classes.

Cowing said she wanted to leave Arkansas for college. This is a hard for many people because they don’t want to separate from the place where they grew up, she said.

“It feels like the town they live in is everything they are,” she said.

Upcoming Events