Trey Farley
tlf001@marietta.edu
Every year a new freshman class makes the trip to Marietta from their respective areas and gathers with others to pursue an education of a lifetime. Although every class starts in roughly the same situation, they all arrive here with different accolades attached to them. This year’s class is particularly interesting in that they came in with high GPAs and ACT scores, however it would be a shame to not mention that over ten percent of this class is international students which further adds to not only Marietta’s rich academic history, but also contributes to the great diversity that the college has every year. However, the persistent gender gap persisted this year with 63% of the new class being male and 37% being female.
“I think every year, college staff sort of wonder what the incoming class is going to look like: What is their identity? What are their passions? What are their greatest challenges going to be?” Associate Director of New Student Programs Erin Riordan-Dye said. “Calling them the Class of 2020 didn’t help–such a crazy number! It feels like it’s been so long since I was in their shoes, heading to college for the first time. I think most of us just hoped we could still relate.”
It seems that the staff managed to find a way to relate to the students as all 285 of the new students seemed very confident about their new adventure in their lives here at Marietta.
That was mostly thanks to the likes of Riordan-Dye and the others whom assisted with welcome week, however other leaders on campus have also noticed that the freshman have taken a liking to campus very quickly as well.
“Many freshmen also have told me that the campus has been very welcoming, which makes a big difference in their transition. They are feeling supported and that this is their new home” Dean of the McDonough Leadership Program Dr. Gama Perruci said.
Although many questions always surround an incoming freshman class, there are always some guarantees with each class. First, they will slowly become leaders on campus and familiar faces that everyone knows and enjoys. Also, they will shape their futures just as much as they will change the campus of Marietta College. Finally, many of these freshman will go on to one day be members of the long blue line and continue the great reputation of Marietta in society.
