New Kid in Town

By: Austin Herrington

Mayville State is full of diverse people from all around. Some are five states away, some are even countries away. No matter the circumstance, it’s a change of new scenery.

In the country varies from California, Nevada, Hawaii, Texas, Florida etc. Country wise there are students from England, Spain, and Australia.

For students coming to Mayville it is a very huge change. Some have never lived in environments where it is normal for snow to be on the ground during the fall, winter and part of spring. And negative degree weather is not a shock during the winter.

All that aside, they still must deal with that while going to school and being away from family. Jonathan Pluth from Concord, CA is in his second semester at Mayville. “Living on my own and not having homecooked meals was hard to deal with,” said Pluth. “School is definitely harder here than it is from my previous junior college,” he continued.

Pluth further explained the amount of stress he has here compared to back home is insurmountable. Having to go to school, go to baseball practice, then to come home and cook is stressful than he thought it would be.

Hands down this cold is not something it takes overnight to get used to. Shelton Grace from Kealakekua, HI is not what he expected. “Having to walk to class when there is snow constantly on the ground is weird to me,” said Grace. “Back home, its always sunny with great weather but here its mainly cold and its annoying,” Grace explained.

But being in the cold did prepare him to not to be as cold anymore. He finds himself wearing shorts out when it is below thirty degrees. Compared to back home it was cold when it was less than sixty degrees outside.

There is one thing to say about the students who have never lived in the cold. Then there are those who have lived in it all their life. They even help the guys who aren’t around here make them feel at home.

Marcus Wohl is from Fargo, ND and he loves helping some of the guys around campus or on his team feel welcomed to North Dakota.

“I’m just treating the guys the way I would want to be treated if I was in their situation,” said Wohl. “Sometimes I would bring them back home just, so they can have a family meal again,” he continued.

It’s hard for students to adjust to a new environment. Especially when these students are more than 2 hours away from their homes.

Next time you find out someone is a long way from home, take them in and make them feel welcomed. You never know you might make a long time friend