By Nadia Dudley

Stepping onto campus as a student for the first time felt surreal. I had driven up with my younger sister, most of my life packed into the back of my tiny car. My parents trailed behind me, and the butterflies in my stomach quickly beat along with my heart as I got the key to my room. In what seemed like an instant I was unlocking the door to my new home away from home.

My little brother Griffin in front of Golisano Academic Center on move-in day.

About the Community


In my first week as a first-year student, I have never met someone who wasn’t willing to offer a smile or hold open a door. This is something that President Beth Paul talked about when I toured Nazareth last summer. She said that Nazareth was a community of “door holders,” and I chuckled initially at that thought. Surely, I thought, not everyone can be a door holder. 

However, my first week on campus gladly proved me wrong. This Nazareth community of changemakers, faculty, staff, and students was ready to welcome everyone to campus with endless amounts of encouragement and support. I wore this like a blanket of comfort my first week, knowing that there was always someone on campus to help guide me when needed.

That’s an excited President Paul on move-in day.

Settling In

I will be the first to admit it: Saying goodbye to my family was harder than I anticipated. I found the goodbye didn’t fully process until later that night when I got back to my dorm room after a day of orientation. However, many things helped me settle in at Nazareth.

1. Personalizing My Space

Nothing makes me more cozy than putting up pictures of my loved ones (pets included) and filling my bed with a variety of comfy blankets and pillows. Making my space my own really helped me feel more at ease. While you can bring whatever you like, I recommend photos, a whiteboard, and any decorations that catch your eye.
A student prepares photo collages to go on the wall.

2. Meeting New People

I know, I know. Meeting new people is something we all dread doing from time to time, but I promise it is worth the experience. I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and talked to people in my hall, my orientation group, and in my classes. This made going to places around campus a little less scary because I could see familiar faces. Sometimes all it takes is a quick hello or the simple question, “Would you want to go eat with me?”

3. Touring Campus Before Classes

For the directionally challenged: I see you, and I am you. While Nazareth does have a smaller campus, it can feel like a maze, especially with the emotional stress of being in a new environment. What helped me combat this was scoping out where my classes were a few days in advance, so I could get familiar with my surroundings. This is another great activity to grab some people and go do.

Academic building floor maps are online (purple icon) at maps.naz.edu.

4. Learning About Resources

Nazareth has a plethora of resources for their students, all of them easily accessible. Many you’ll learn about during tours and orientation, and others you’ll learn even more about as you begin your first semester on campus. Here’s a list of the basics:

Campus Safety: From getting my NazCard ID to getting my parking permit, Campus Safety has been a reliable 24/7 resource so far. Not to mention, everyone on this staff I’ve met has greeted me with a comforting smile. Make sure when you get to campus you download the Safe@Naz App!

Residential Life: While in a perfect world rooming situations would all be amazing right off the bat, mistakes can be made or application deadlines missed. Residential life is here to help you to ensure your comfort at Nazareth.

Academic Success & Accessibility: Whether you need tutoring or help setting up a learning aid, the Academic Success & Accessibility team has you covered! All you have to do is reach out to set up an appointment.

Golisano Training Center: The Golisano Training Center is your place for anything fitness-related! All you have to do is swipe your NazCard ID to access a beautiful facility with an indoor track, weight room, cardio machines, and more.

Health and Counseling Center: Nazareth emphasizes its care for the physical and mental well-being of students. No place shows this better than the Health and Counseling Center, available to all students at Nazareth. Whether an unfortunate accident happens and you get hurt, or you need someone to talk with, Health and Counseling has you covered.

Academic Advisement: Feeling stuck or confused with your academics? Academic Advisement can lend a helping hand — for transferring credits from high school, exploring majors, or making your schedule. Each student at Nazareth gets their own academic advisor who they can meet and work with to ensure they’re on the path they want to be on.

Center for Life's Work: The Center for Life’s Work helps students create a path to success during and after our time at Nazareth. Your Career Coach helps you analyze what path you may want to take based on your skills and interests.


Orientation


Fear, anxiety, excitement, and hopefulness swam through my mind as I made my way to find my orientation group. When I got there, I was greeted by a ginormous smile from my orientation leader. I looked around at my group and noticed we all looked nervous about being in a new place, meeting new people. We were in the same boat, no matter who we were.

As the day moved on and our group made its way from event to event, we started talking amongst each other to pass the time. In doing so, I created connections with people, and we could all breathe a little easier knowing that we had newfound friends.

For more about orientation, check out 10 Pro Tips for Orientation, by Katie Oechsle!