Back on Campus!

What a year it has been! Yesterday we brought Ashley back home to Muhlenberg. Unlike last year, at no point did we question whether or not she would be returning. Even with the Delta variant making numbers climb, mandatory vaccinations plus last year's success meant we knew she would be back. A year ago, we had no idea what to expect.

What we didn't know until recently was that the school would try so hard to welcome the class of 2024 in a manner similar to how they wanted to welcome them last year. They made move in fun, and provided the orientation they missed last year (or held virtually). Parents met other parents. Parents had a chance to ask questions face-to-face.

The program is called SOAR: Sophomore Orientation and Reconnection. A brand-new, one-time only program designed to right the wrongs of a year ago. They will sign the book every other student has signed before the class of 2025. They will have their own candlelight ceremony (after the class of 2025). One fun thing they added in was they had students volunteers (mostly athletes) helping other students move in while piping music and having fun. Parents stepped back and let them do all the work. We know this is usually only a freshman perk, so we appreciated it all the more as we remembered the fridge nearly flattening Don as he carried it around the bend in the stairs last August.

The atmosphere on campus was so different from a year ago! We all commented there were people on campus. We had been told you have to allow time to say hi to people on the five minute walk from one end of campus to the other -- and that's what we finally saw after a year. At one point I was carrying something into her room and I saw her RA. As I was apologizing for forgetting to lift my mask, she was cool with it (after shifting the pillows I was carrying, I fixed that). A year ago no one was vaccinated and they were afraid they might have to shut the campus down early. Those feelings have relaxed in a new normalcy.

Ashley moved into sophomore housing. Her room felt enormous compared with last year's room. The area rug that filled up the space between beds is now a speck on the floor. She has a car. She knows where Target is. She'll figure it out. She is loving the large closet -- much bigger than the armoire she had last year.

Unlike last year, we did not have a set move in time. She did have to fail a COVID test (negative result), but she no longer has to fill out a daily health screening, or be limited to dining with four friends hidden behind Plexiglass, or wear masks in the dorm, or be assigned a sink and shower. As with last year, though, I don't expect to be allowed back in her room until move out day, but that year it will be in May and not in November! 

Us parents were forgotten as she caught up with her friends. That was really good to see. We met other parents at orientation sessions. Steve Dutton talked about SOAR and how different schools are handling the class of 2024 -- some are merging them with class of 2025, but Muhlenberg wanted them to have their own experiences. 

By 2 we were kicked out of the dorm. By 4 we were ready to go home. Ashley walked us to the car for a last hug and pep talk.

Of note for those of you with good memories, the car did not die on the way home, but we took it to the mechanic after it made some odd noises on the drive home. The mechanic gave it the all clear.

A small post-script. Muhlenberg posted the following picture on their Facebook page. It is of Ashley's friends Paige, Greg, Ashley, and Abby. I could not have taken a better picture had I been given the chance.

That week she sent me her first day of school picture -- and so the tradition continues.

May she have a wonderful semester.