Haley Mock, left, helps her brother-in-law Cameron Oswalt of Elkhart, Indiana, move into his dorm Thursday. Oswalt is a freshman in the university’s high-performance motorsports program.
Craig Kelly | The Lima News
LIMA — A drive through the dormitory parking lots Thursday at the University of Northwestern Ohio would take someone on a cross-country tour simply with the license plates: Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, West Virginia, New York, Illinois, North Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri, Georgia, Mississippi, Idaho and more.
Those states and 26 other nations were represented Thursday as the university welcomed students for move-in day.
“It’s crazy, it’s busy, and it’s a lot of fun,” UNOH Vice President of University Services and Military Relations Andrew Joseph said. “It’s organized chaos, but it is a lot of fun, and it’s probably one of the most exciting times during the year.”
During the school year, UNOH has almost 1,600 students living on campus, Joseph said. UNOH Housing Director Marlo Duffy said the college is anticipating 472 students moving into dorms between Thursday and Friday, with between 150 and 200 additional students in the College of Business arriving in two to three weeks. With so many students coming from long distances, Duffy emphasized the importance of helping them foster a new sense of community on campus.
“Once they’re here on campus, there are different things all the time going on throughout the week at Racer Station,” she said. “When they get their dorm assignments, they get the roommate’s contact information, too, so they can start reaching out to one another.”
UNO will have 65 new international students representing 45 countries coming in this year, many to take part in athletics, such as soccer, baseball and tennis. Abigail Meyer, the college’s director of international student services, said that part of welcoming these students to Lima is helping them enjoy life in America while understanding they do not have to leave their home nation behind.
“I always tell them, ‘Yeah, you’re coming to the States, and you’re expected to speak English in class and learn English, but don’t lose your home country,’” she said. “Hang up flags. Listen to music. Make the food you like. Don’t forget your home country.”
With support networks far away for out-of-state and international students, the university is working to ensure not only that their educational needs are being met, but also their more basic needs, whether organically among the student population or as a set program.
“They don’t have licenses, so they network with our domestic students and build friends for when they’re like, ‘Hey, let’s do a Walmart run or a Meijer run,’” Meyer said. “We’ve got the fair this weekend, so I’m sure some will stop out there to see what it’s like.”
“We’ve had a lot of organizations call us and say, ‘Hey, I’d like to help out,’” UNOH Vice President of Public Relations and Marketing Stephanie Malloy said. “Neighborhood Relief comes and does food pickups here and there for students, which is great for some of the students who may not have the resources to go to the store. They can pick up a whole box of food and they’re good for a couple of weeks.”
The university also works to help the students feel like a part of the community, whether it is international students going to share about their home countries at Elida Elementary School or students going to help tutor in the Lima school system.
“We’ve really pushed for them to get involved,” Duffy said.
