Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

37° Evanston, IL
Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Guest Column: Zach Kisfalusi

My wait was finally over. I had arrived at Northwestern University-a month before classes were scheduled to start.

I had been invited to be a member of the 2010 Summer Academic Workshop program. Honestly, when I agreed to come, I had little idea what the program was about or what benefits it offered, besides leaving home. My friends had all left for college, and with classes at NU not starting until Sept. 21st, I was not about to sit at home doing nothing for three weeks.

On the approach to campus, I woke from my slumber to see the ivy growing on the buildings of the sorority quad. I ran to the North Mid-Quad to meet my eight student counselors and then unpacked numerous boxes and bags, moving into a temporary room for the two weeks before Wildcat Welcome Week. I was simply excited to finally start experiencing the college life, along with meeting my fellow “SADubbers” or SAW participants.

Operated by the Office for Multicultural Student Affairs and the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education, SAW has been around since 1966 as a means for around 45 students per year to improve their writing skills, develop friendships and network, and learn their way around campus.

As I navigated my way through two weeks of two-hour-a-day classes with a NU professor, information sessions, workshops, trips to Chicago and nearby attractions, and academic advising, I was constantly flooded with names and faces. This was both hectic and enjoyable as I met many new people very quickly and got to know some of them quite well during long discussions and jaunts around campus.

I became quite well-acquainted with the campus layout, the grilled food at Sargent, the numerous resources that NU makes available to students, and the close-knit family that the MSA offers to all those who wish to be a part of the 3-2-1 system: three departments, two houses, one community. The program helped me develop a core group of friends that I still talk to and say hello to when I see them around campus. My freshman experience has been better than I could have ever imagined because of my involvement with the SAW program.

Zach Kisfalusi is a Weinberg Freshman he can be reached at [email protected]

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Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881
Guest Column: Zach Kisfalusi