“Where do you go to school?” “You’ve probably never heard of it — it’s in the middle of nowhere in Iowa”

This conversation takes place more often I thought it would. Sometimes people have actually heard of my school and I get really excited to talk about my amazing community.

However, it seems that’s one of the only things we have going for us — our community on campus. Besides that, there’s nothing really else in the area. Target? Starbucks? That’s an hour-long road trip!

This may be a negative for city slickers or folk like me, who were raised in small towns just on the outskirts of major hubs. Yet, I have found that being “in the middle of nowhere” has had vast benefits to my collegiate living and academics.

• I don’t spend as much money. With not as many places to go, restaurants to eat at, or shops to browse, I’m able to hold on to my ever-so-shrinking college student’s budget. Let’s just pretend online shopping doesn’t exist for my credit’s sake.
• I’m more in touch with nature. When there aren’t as many businesses that provide entertainment for college students, we get to go out and find our own. Any time of year, you’ll find students out running, playing lawn golf, and kayaking on the lake (or playing hockey if it’s winter). It’s great to get outside for a breath of fresh air. And it’s really fresh! There’s no city smog here!
• Small towns, big opportunities. There may not be a lot going on in small towns, but that just leaves a lot of chances for students to create programs within their communities that don’t exist (but might already in larger towns). Being at the forefront of the creation of programs (or other initiatives) will develop you immensely and is a chance you may not get in those larger cities.
• A great community relationship. The communities within these small towns are very close knit, and connections are easy to establish with groups of residents. If you love being part a big family (even outside of campus), a small town in between cornfields is a great place.
• It’s a great story of survival. No matter how much you convince people it’s not that bad to live in the middle of nowhere, some will always feel sorry for you. “I had to go four years without seeing a Target, Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, or Panda Express… and I lived!”

Sometimes when I drive my four-hour trek back to school, I wonder why I chose to go to school in small town, rural Iowa. However, once I pull up on campus and see my smiling peers, I know why I was drawn to this school.