Dear Stonehill College Class of 2021,

Congratulations on making it through high school! Welcome to the next chapter of your life.

In just a few weeks, you will finally meet your peers at orientation. I'm going to be completely honest with you - freshman orientation is two of the most overwhelming days of your entire life. This will be the first time you will truly be exposed to the Stonehill community, and the peer mentor team will make you feel right at home immediately. Orientation is such an exciting time, and just being at Stonehill as a student for the first time will automatically put a smile on your face. You will meet so many people over these two days, and it's perfectly okay if you do not remember everyone's names! You definitely do not have to become friends with everyone in your orientation group, and if you make just one friend, it will be beneficial. Use your peer mentors as RESOURCES, they are there to answer your questions and be your friend throughout your entire time at Stonehill - not just at orientation! A lot of information will be thrown at you over a two day span, and your peer mentors will always be there to help sort everything out.

After orientation, you will be so excited to begin your journey at Stonehill, however, do not wish the summer away. This summer is the last summer before everything changes, and do not take it for granted. Spend as much time as you can with your friends, and the summer will be over in the blink of an eye.

Move-in day will be a blur - I do not remember it at all. I highly recommend that over the first few days at school, you leave your dorm door open - this is how you will make a lot of your first friends at school! People will not be afraid to say hi, and you should not be afraid either. You might not feel at home right away, and that is okay. Even though your new friends may not seem homesick, they most likely are, and it really helps to talk to them about it. You might miss your friends, family, and how things used to be before college, but it is all completely normal. You should be aware that it does take time to find your place in your new environment!

Academics are significantly different in college than they are in high school, but that's okay! No matter how hard it is, I beg of you to please try to budget your time accordingly. You will find yourself wanting to hang out with friends when you should be doing homework, and that will be detrimental to your grades! No matter what, please keep track of the syllabus for your classes, and be aware of when papers are due - late nights in the library are inevitable no matter what, but if you plan ahead, you won't be stuck writing an entire paper in one day. Everything always will work out in the end, and use your professors as a resources - they do not want to see you fail, and the professors at Stonehill are some of the most accommodating people I've ever met!

Lastly, please get involved in all that Stonehill has to offer. You have to take it upon yourself to seek out the clubs and events on campus, but once you do, you will not regret it. Stonehill has clubs for everyone, and you will meet the best people by joining clubs - you will be able to find people who share your same interests if you just put yourself out there!

To the incoming freshmen, remember that everything is going to work out fine - the adjustment may take a little while, but I cannot wait to see you thrive in Stonehill's environment. Welcome to your new home.

With love,

The Stonehill Class of 2020