Midway College will forever be the school that I chose to continue my education at, but it will not be the school I will graduate from in just a few semesters. July 1st, 2015 everything began to change. This was the day the institution changed their name to Midway University; this brought a number of changes. Some expected and some not so much.
If you don’t know anything about Midway University, I’m frankly not surprised. And to those that do know about it, you know that it is a small all-women University in Midway, KY. When deciding what university/college I wanted to attend, my father mentioned Midway. My initial reaction was, “what and where the heck is Midway College?” He commenced to tell me it was an all-women college and had a brand new golf program. I decided to give it a chance; I visited a few weeks later and honestly fell in love with everything, except the fact that there were no guys. It seemed so important to me at the time, but in hindsight I had finally found somewhere that felt a little like home. So despite the male-free situation, I decided to attend Midway in the fall of 2014.
Towards the end of my freshman year, the school announced that we would be changing the name from Midway College to Midway University for a number of purposes. This was the beginning of a new era for the institution. This summer the university announced something that many of our students thought wouldn't occur until years to come, allowing males to attend day classes and slowly moving them onto campus. Days after this announcement, St. Catherine College in Kentucky announced that they were closing their doors; this became an open opportunity for Midway. So, in short the university now has men's sport teams, which results them to living on campus.
I am so pleased that the school is moving forward, but there are so many little things that I am going to miss.
What to Wear:
This is the thing I will miss the most!!
Since the school was all-women's, there was no reason that any girl would need to wear makeup, put on real pants, nor wear anything other than a sports bra. We became comfortable with the fact that each and every one of us accepted the fact that we all looked like “hobos”. I'm not saying we still can't dress down, but now there is a little more pressure on us young women to dress decently.
Class sizes:
Midway’s class sizes are very, very small, hence to the small amount of students. However, now the classes will get bigger. It is just something that the returning students will have to adapt to.
The “guy” surprise:
If you go to Midway and you are reading this you know how mostly everyone reacts when we see a random guy on campus. Everyone turns heads and wonders who the guy is there for. Now, seeing guys on campus on the first day will either be pleasant or slightly uncomfortable or awkward for every girl returning to campus. Let's face it, we are just not used to the large presence of testosterone on campus!! It always made me laugh when the shock factor would occur.
The dining hall:
I’m currently not aware of the improvements the school is making for the new influx of students, but thinking about the dining hall...the lines will be so long now! Where will everyone sit? I know these are silly little concerns, but if you are a returning student at Midway you know each team and group has their own tables. Like the forever laughing table of equine girls, the loud golf table and the studying their life away nursing students. It all has become a habit for us, one that will be interesting to see how it plays out this coming fall.
In conclusion, I am thrilled about the new teams and the male students that will be attending in the fall, it will allow us girls to experience a different college experience than expected. I’m sure the school is figuring out all the little problems and the transition won’t be a problem at all. I honestly can’t wait until the semester starts! This should definitely be an interesting year!
