SMSU Homecoming Week!

Hello Everyone!

            

It’s great to be back at SMSU again! Can you believe it’s already that time of year? It’s Homecoming Week! It seems like just last week it was Gold Rush Days! This year’s theme is Mustangs Unleashed, and it’s already proving to be popular with students. With Homecoming Week upon us, it means things are busy in the land of Mustangs!

           

Homecoming Week is an annual event where current and former Mustangs unite in honor of SMSU and its fine heritage. The festivities actually started a couple weeks ago when clubs and organizations on campus selected nominations for this year’s Homecoming ballot. Shortly after, the voting started for Freshman and Sophomore representatives, and King and Queen finalists. King and Queen will be announced on Coronation night.

            

This week has been a frenzy of other activities on campus as well. We had our annual Stampede cookout sponsored by Chartwells in the Student Center on Monday, and on Tuesday night we had the always popular Chris Jones to perform his Hypnotist show. The Hypnotist show has been a staple of Homecoming week for a while now and is a huge favorite among many students. It’s always a delight to see your fellow classmates become hypnotized and do crazy things they would never normally do.

As the week continues, events such as Coronation of the Homecoming King and Queen help round out the week. On Friday, there is a volleyball game, as well as the SMSU Foundation Gala, which is the largest fundraiser for student scholarships. It raises a lot of money from SMSU alumni to help pay it forward to new SMSU students. 

            

The activities conclude on Saturday, starting with the parade in downtown Marshall. From Homecoming royalty to SMSU clubs to local Marshall businesses, the parade is chock full of fun! The athletics start with a Girls’ Soccer game followed by the much anticipated Football game at 6. Homecoming Week truly has something for every kind of Mustang!

            

This is Aaron Bible signing off, hoping all your Mustang Dreams come true!

Brooke's First Month at SMSU!

Hey guys! My name is Brooke Sorensen, and I am a freshman at SMSU! I am originally from Minneota, Minnesota, which is about 15 miles west of Marshall. I am majoring in Communication Arts and Literature/Secondary Education. I have been at SMSU for about a month now, and I am loving it! Even though I have only been here for a short amount of time, I already feel confident that I made the right decision coming here. I am not going to lie; I was pretty nervous coming into college. But, I quickly realized that there was nothing to be nervous about.

I was very nervous about finding my way around campus, but my first weekend at SMSU made that fade quickly. I moved in on a Thursday and spent the weekend doing various activities to get accustomed to campus. There were also numerous opportunities to go on tours of the academic buildings to help me find my way around. By the time that classes started on Monday, I felt as though I was already used to the campus. Although I did get turned around at times the first couple weeks, that faded, and I now feel that I know campus well. I am also getting to know campus even better now that I am working in the Office of Admission.

Another one of my worries coming to SMSU was making friends. I came from a small town where everybody knows everybody. I had had the same friends for all of elementary school, junior high, and high school. I was very nervous about leaving them, but Gold Rush Days also changed that. There were so many activities that I could take part in that had no choice but to meet tons of new people. By the end of the weekend, I had already made lots of new friends. I have also met a lot of new people through various activities after Gold Rush Days. I found after the first week that making new friends was not something that I needed to be worried about because there are so many new people that you will meet through activities and classes, you will make lots of new friends.

My last worry, which was probably my biggest concern, was my classes and time management skills. I was very nervous about my classes when I first came in. I was unsure of what to expect in a college classroom, but I soon realized that this was not something that I needed to worry about. While the classes that I am taking are structured differently as we only meet two or three times a week, I found that I, personally, liked this better. I am taking fifteen credits this semester. I also have two jobs that add up to 20 hours a week. I was nervous that this would be too overwhelming for me and that I would struggle managing my time. While it has been an adjustment, I feel like I have adjusted to it well. I did have to stop procrastinating the way that I did in high school, but I guess that it probably a good thing!

My first month at SMSU surpassed my expectations, and I have enjoyed it a lot! I came into college being very nervous about finding my way around, making friends, and managing my time and classes. After my first month, this nervousness no longer exists. Even after my first weekend at SMSU, I found that I did not need to worry! Although I have only been here for a month, I am already confident that I made the right choice coming to SMSU. I feel at home here, and I could not ask for much more than that. I love it here, and I love being a part of the Mustang Family!

Go Mustangs!

Brooke Sorensen