Indiana University Northwest (IU Northwest) was buzzing with activities and excitement as students attended their first day of the new school year.
The faculty welcomed students, and events were held on the lawn to encourage students to stay on campus. Freshmen and sophomores were also invited to participate in the RedHawk Induction Ceremony.
IU Northwest is home to a diverse group of students looking to earn their degrees. Some students may be working while also attending class, while others may be high school students earning college credits.
Ty’ana Morgan is a high school student who is attending IU Northwest to earn English credits, and, like many others, today was her first time being in a college classroom.
“I wasn’t sure I wanted to attend college, but now being on campus, I think I want to go,” Morgan said. “I want to experience this, so when it’s time for me to go to college, I can pass on some of my credits and succeed.”
Other students are freshmen who have just begun their college careers.
Fatima Avalos, a freshman, was excited and nervous as she started her first semester of her college career. Avalos is taking six classes this semester and majoring in biology on a pre-medicine track.
“It’s the transition from high school to college and getting used to your new environment that has me nervous,” Avalos said. “It’s going to be about getting used to all of it and meeting new people.”
Freshman Business Major John Armatore already enjoys the different, new atmosphere that comes with starting college.
“I wasn’t too excited to come back to school considering we did it for 12 years, but seeing how it is more laid back and more independent, it’s not too bad,” Armatore said.
Students who have the first few years of their college career finished are looking toward the future and completing all the requirements to graduate.
“Since the pandemic and our nursing careers started, we haven’t really had good clinical experiences. Because of the vaccine and us being back, I’m super excited to get some hands-on clinical experience,” Junior Allison Vanderweide said.
Along with other junior nursing students, Vanderwiede will have two eight-week clinicals and two eight-week blocks of classes this semester.
“I’m excited to get to know the new professors,” Vanderweide said. “Many professors were seen over Zoom, and a lot of us were corresponding over emails and text messages. It will be nice to finally put a name to a face.”
In addition to students, many faculty members are looking forward to the new school year as well. Some professors started their day with classes and the RedHawk Induction Ceremony. Others will start classes on Tuesday.
School of the Arts Dean David Klamen said last year has been unpredictable and challenging, but the faculty accomplished great things.
“We are all happy to be back here together,” Klamen said. “I think that we all learned a lot during this pandemic. There was so much effort put in by the faculty to rise to the occasion of making sure our students had a good experience. The opportunity for us to be back and regain some resemblance of the life we had before is reassuring, and it feels good.”
One of the highlights of the year for Klamen will be in-person critiques in the art studios.
“The physicality of what folks make is often a meaningful part of it," Klamen said. "To be able to see the work in person with the artist and discuss it with them changes the experience, and I’m really looking forward to being back in the classroom.”
Associate Professor of Sociology Kevin McElmurry anticipates getting back to the routine of day-to-day work.
“I’m cautiously optimistic, and I’m really looking forward to seeing faces,” McElmurry said. “I like to do a lot of interactive work in the classroom, and that wasn’t always possible with Zoom.”
Associate Professor of History David Parnell spent last year teaching online through Zoom.
“One of the things I’m most excited about is that I’m going to be teaching role-playing games this semester. The students will all take on historical personas, and they will role-play various historical events,” Parnell said. “That was something that was not possible over Zoom. To be all together in the classroom to do this will be very special.”
Parnell said he’s a little nervous that he might scare the students because he’s ready to be back in class.
“The students are the reason that we are here. We all have things that we do. We do our research. We go to our committee meetings, but I think all of us became professors because of the students,” Parnell said. “Being able to be with them in the classroom and being able to talk with them is very important.”
Parnell missed the little things about being a professor, such as the two minutes before class when he interacted with the students.
To learn more about Indiana University Northwest and its faculty, please visit https://www.iun.edu/.
