As a quaint city in the Deep South, many consider Auburn home.
But to a student coming from out of state, it can feel unfamiliar and distant.
Jess Huibregtse, senior in agricultural economics and business, grew up near Boston, but she wanted to attend college far away. Walking on campus for the first time, she said she immediately knew Auburn was right for her.
Once here, though, it was a bit different.
“I remember feeling very alone because all of a sudden, I was 1,800 miles from home, and it was the first time living on my own,” Huibregtse said.
To get connected, she found the Sailing Team at O-Day and decided to join. Now, she is the club’s president.
Huibregtse also bonded with her roommates who were from different states.
“We would sit in our dorm and ask each other what we called this and that. I would call it a ‘cart,’ and they would call it a ‘buggy,’ or I would call it ‘sneakers,’ and they would call it ‘tennis shoes,’” she said. “You meet people from all over, so the culture shock is less because everyone is going through it together.”
Now in her final year, she has taken a lot away from her college experience.
“It has taught me how to live alone and how to be an advocate for myself,” she said. “I have always been proud to say that I go to Auburn, but around sophomore year, it started to feel like home.”
Phil McDonald, senior in building science, also moved from the East Coast. He lived in Philidelphia before moving to Auburn.
“One of the big things that pushed me down here was avoiding the cold and the snow,” he said.
During recruitment, he accepted a bid from Phi Sigma Kappa and found a “sense of brotherhood and people to fall back on to,” he said.
While people noticed that his accent and clothes were different, McDonald said that he never felt like he was unaccepted.
Other students from his area, like D.C. and New Jersey, decided to transfer after the first semester, but he stuck it out.
“It is important to stay for at least a year because it takes time for people to understand who you are and for you to understand who they are,” he said.
Darby Dwyer, junior in biomedical sciences, had less of a culture shock moving from Houston to Alabama, but she still faced challenges as an out-of-state student.
She said it is easy to get caught up in the idea people create in their heads as high school students of what college will be like. Adjusting and identifying your goals early, though, will help the transition, Dwyer said.
“It is going to be hard sometimes, [but] it does not mean you are failing; it means you are experiencing life,” she said.
Dwyer met people through the Freshman Leadership Program, church and mutual friends.
“Be bold, get plugged in, even if it is not permanent,” she said. “You will start to find your footing.”
Ultimately, she believes that moving to Auburn from Texas is her most valued life lession.
“[I am] proving to myself that I can do this and that I am doing well,” Dwyer said.
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