Freshman Perspectives
Chase reached out to some new, first-year students to gather their thoughts on life at Carleton.
Chase reached out to some new, first-year students to gather their thoughts on life at Carleton.
I decided to get some perspectives on life at Carleton, early impressions from the Class of 2021, who are now approaching the halfway point in their first term of college. I caught some of my freshman friends “studying” in our dorm lounge and got a few opinions from them:
Kyra ’21
“My first impression of Carleton as of now is that Carleton occupies its own niche and fosters a very comfortable atmosphere. No matter who you’re with — professors, students — you always feel welcomed. Time management is a challenge and, to be honest, you’ll be very busy that it can be hard to leave campus. Every friend you make is unique and conversations with these people can be amazing.”
Yoonho ’21
“At Carleton, I can walk up to anyone — and I mean literally anyone — and I can make friends with them in like 10 minutes. It’s a safe and supportive environment in which every single student and faculty member encourages helping one another. Carleton has a bubble of coziness. Despite it being far away from the cities and its small size, it still has that liveliness inside.”
Vanna ’21
“At first, I thought it would be too small and that you wouldn’t have time to yourself. But after awhile, I realized I got to know tons of new people. It feels nice to see familiar faces around campus and there’s a real sense of community here. Overall, I feel like I belong here and that’s something I can really appreciate.”
Me
“What the freshman have told me still resonates with me now as a junior. When I was a freshman during my first few weeks at Carleton, I was very much impressed with the school, mostly due to the friendliness of the students and professors. As a junior, my initial impressions still hold true. I have had a tremendous amount of personal and social growth, and Carleton’s size and sense of community — as has been alluded to numerous times by the freshmen — have definitely acted as a catalyst in that regard.”
Chase is a junior linguistics major and is more than glad to exchange the year-round California heat for some Minnesota seasonality. In his free time, he enjoys directing K-pop dances for Karl-Pop, playing guzheng, and cycling around Northfield. When Chase doesn’t have free time, which is often, he’ll be in the libe or Sayles with a cup (or cups) of chai tea in hand.