450 first-year students attend orientation, receive iPads to use for studies

MANSFIELD – A cool breeze rustled the leaves above the Mansfield campus of The Ohio State University as nearly 450 incoming freshmen visited the campus Tuesday, some for the first time.

“They will leave today with a BuckID and their schedule in hand,” said Jennifer Fry, the director of enrollment services at OSU-M. “New, first-year students get iPad Airs.”

Nearly 1,100 students will attend the branch this autumn, all of whom will be from Ohio. Out-of-state students must attend the university’s main campus in Columbus. Despite the spaces between, each of the school’s campuses are connected.

“All students in Ohio are guaranteed to be a Buckeye,” Fry said. “There are just six different places they might start.”

Regardless of what portion of Ohio they’re from, students could choose to attend any regional campus. Many of them hoped to eventually transfer to Columbus.

“We just moved somebody last week,” Fry said. “They were from Cleveland and had been enrolled in Newark, but they decided they wanted to come here instead.”

The freshmen during Tuesday’s orientation walked the campus, visited classrooms and met several of their professors. Those who planned to live on campus got to see their new dorm rooms.

“It’s an exciting time for the students,” Fry said.

Many of the new students aren’t far from home. Tucker Mills, 18, of Greenwich, enrolled over the summer.

“Up until recently, I had no idea what I wanted to do,” Mills said.

He thought it over, and realized he liked science quite a bit. He enrolled in the forestry, fisheries and wildlife major, because most of the prerequisites for that program are the same as for the marine biology major. He wanted to set himself up to be able to transfer majors next year, if he chooses.

“But again, I’m still not entirely certain on anything,” Mills said.

After driving to the campus for the second time in his life, he’s decided it’s close enough to home that he can commute every day. He found both visits to be pleasant.

“Everybody has been very nice and outgoing, and the facilities are really nice,” Mills said.

Attending OSU-M has been a plan for Rehna Shook, 18, of Willard, for the last six years.

She’s enrolled in the pre-dentistry program, and plans to someday become an orthodontist. The goal is to transfer to the main campus after two years in Mansfield, but she’s not exactly eager to move to the state’s capital.

“I like small spaces, and I like getting to know people,” Shook said.

A similar sentiment came from Derricka Frost, 18, of Bellevue. Most of her friends decided to attend Bowling Green, but she didn’t really like that idea.

“I’m from a small school, so I felt like a small school fit me better,” Frost said. “I feel like I will get to know the professors better than I would in a classroom with 200 people.”

Fortunately, she’s almost already done with her freshman year. While in high school, Frost earned 26 college credits from Bowling Green.

Her plan is to get a degree in criminology, earn her juris doctorate from OSU’s Moritz College of Law and then become a prosecutor. She wants to stay in Mansfield as long as she’s able.

“If you’re a Buckeye, you’re accepted, so being here is the same as being in Columbus,” Frost said. “If everything goes well, I could see myself staying here for four years.”

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