University of Mount Olive Freshmen Looking Forward to the Future
MOUNT OLIVE – There may have been a cloudy overcast on Saturday, August 13th, but the air was buzzing with excitement during University of Mount Olive’s freshmen move-in. Cars, trucks, and campus safety spotted the campus as freshmen students moved in laundry baskets filled with color coordinated linens and beddings. Family and friends hauled trunks filled with memories from home and school supplies ready to help fulfill dreams of a earning a college education.
Sara Uzzell, from Jacksonville, North Carolina, was excited about moving in and getting situated in her dorm. Uzzell is undecided about her major while at MOC, but knows she wants to be a dentist. Uzzell’s roommate, Carrie Lamb, from Garland, North Carolina, has her sights on becoming a high school English teacher. “I’m kinda nervous and excited about being here.” They met one another at orientation and applied to be roommates.
Roommates Joshua Parker and Derick Lewis met for the first time Saturday. Parker, a biology major from Kinston, North Carolina, said, “This morning I woke up a little nervous and jittery, but I’ll be fine once I get I settle in.” Parker, who’s just returning from Iraq, is used to being away from home. Lewis, from Lakeland, Florida, is a sports management major and will be on the MOC track team. This is his first time being away from home for an extended period. Lewis’s mother says that she’s not nervous now, but his absence will hit her later on. “He’s 10 hours away. I have to take his brother to college this weekend, then it will really hit me.”
Charlie Watts is coming to University of Mount Olive all the way from England. He plans to pursue a degree in sports management and play on the Trojan men’s basketball team. “I was drawn to MOC because the coach seemed really nice and helpful, and I seemed to interact well with him.” Watt’s dad, David, says, “He’s a long way from home, but I think he’s ready for it.”
University of Mount Olive alumni had a tent welcoming freshman to college. Sophomore Lindsey Parnell, a member of the Undergraduate Alumni Association, offered advice to incoming freshman, “Go to class, have fun, and get involved.” She also encouraged them to learn to make use of their free time between classes.
There’s no one better to offer encouragement to incoming freshman than Dr. David Hines. “I’m pretty well pumped-up. It reminds me of the day that I moved in here. I went and looked into my old room. I spoke to the students and told them that this room has a legacy. I told them that people who get in this room eventually become college deans.”
Hopes and dreams were unpacked along with luggage and memories of homes near and far. These freshmen and transfer students will soon be the ones to offer advice to next year’s incoming students. Through education, lives will be transformed over time. Maybe there are a few future deans who unpacked their things this weekend.
University of Mount Olive is a private institution rooted in the liberal arts tradition with defining Christian values. The College, sponsored by the Convention of Original Free Will Baptists, has locations in Mount Olive, New Bern, Wilmington, Goldsboro, Research Triangle Park, Washington and Jacksonville. For more information, visit www.moc.edu.