As we sweat our way through September, the class of 2019 at Loyola University Maryland is becoming more and more comfortable in our new home on, 4501 North Charles Street. It's not hard, though, to feel at home; here's why, from my own experience as a current freshman, being a freshman at Loyola is, simply put, "the best."
1. Orientation Weekend
OK, so we kind of rolled our eyes by the time Sunday rolled around and we still had to go to hour-long seminars on safety and other topics discussed in the online summer course. But all in all, our orientation weekend was beyond compare. There were tons of activities all day and night, FREE FOOD, a soccer game, and plenty of time to socialize and make friends. It was the absolute perfect way to kick off the school year and boost our confidence levels as classes began.
2. Messina/Evergreens
Here's something unique to Loyola that really puts our freshman experience above all else: Messina. Knowing every single person in my Chemistry class on the first Tuesday of the academic year was the most comforting feeling I've ever had. Not only did we know each other's faces and names, but we had a pretty basic understanding of each other's personalities and we had already hung out quite a bit during orientation. Nothing, however, beat the feeling of having an upperclassmen in our corner from day one. Evergreen leaders who work tirelessly to make orientation and our transition as smooth as possibly deserve canonizations, each and every one of them.
3. The City
As a Philadelphia native, I thought it would be impossible to ever love another city the way I love Philly, but three weeks into school and my mind has already been changed. Especially for a freshman, Baltimore is the perfect city - it's just big enough to explore, but not overwhelmingly big. Inner Harbor, National Aquarium, the proximity to Johns Hopkins and Towson, sporting events (Go Ravens!!), etc. - the possibilities are endless. It's very unlikely you'll be bored here.
4. The Campus
The Evergreen campus literally looks like something out of a movie with horses and a country music soundtrack and really wholesome main characters. There's a reason that the humanities building is the first and last stop on prospective student tours - it's arguably the prettiest building in the world. The quad is majestic, especially when the weather's nice, and everything is within reasonable walking distance. That being said, the freshman fifteen is a joke - it's physically impossible to gain fifteen pounds of anything but pure calf muscle when you walk as much as a Loyola student, especially freshmen who live in Hillside.
5. The Upperclassmen
College freshmen differ most obviously from high school freshmen in this way: it's totally possible to make it through the day without every single person you see knowing you're a freshman and making fun of you. In college, no one cares about what grade you're in, and especially at Loyola, the upperclassmen are so friendly and willing to help, always. The rumors about Loyola are true: everyone holds the door, always, and usually with a smile.
6. The Dorms
Yeah, our dorms are nationally ranked for a reason. That reason is because they're NICE. Whether you live in Flannery (whoop!), Butler, Hammerman, Hopkins, or Campion, you're bound to get one of the nicest freshman dorms you'll find anywhere. They're big, they're clean, they all have heat/air conditioning, and they're all relatively close to the quad and the heart of the school. With the exception of the regular fire drills due to the thoughtless actions of people and their microwavable mac and cheese bowls, there's very little to complain about when it comes to freshman dorms.
7. The Jesuit Mission
It may be cheesy to end on this, but there's nothing more comforting to freshmen who are away from home for the first time than knowing that you have a strong support system behind you. The Jesuits themselves and the attitude they bring to the school promote a healthy and safe environment for us to learn and grow, while telling us that it's still okay to mess up sometimes. The in-residence Jesuits might be the coolest people in the world, too - they have chosen to live in noisy freshmen residence halls because they want to connect with us and be a source of guidance and friendship.
If you're still not convinced that LUM freshmen have it made, I guess you'll just have to come here for yourself and check it out, because there's no doubt that our freshmen experience is among the best you can find.
