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Bailey Thompson | News Editor<\/span><\/p>\n On the morning of Sept. 16, a group of students with diverse backgrounds and experiences moved to Western and began a new, exciting chapter in their lives. Throughout this first week, the PLUS team had organized days that were packed with fun and informative events, aiming to familiarize students with Western\u2019s campus and community.<\/span><\/p>\n A few of the most celebrated events of New Student Week included the Dating Doctor, drive-in movie, hypnotist, WUC Premiere Night, magician, Freshman Bar and NSW Variety Show, along with many others. <\/span><\/p>\n One event which especially highlighted the necessity of hope and determination to this first-year group, though, was the New Student Sunrise \u2014 a recently-conceived tradition in its second year at Western.<\/span><\/p>\n As students gathered at McArthur Stadium early on Sept. 21, yawning and wrapping themselves in blankets, ASWOU president Evelyn Guzman and President Rex Fuller prepared to share wisdom with them about the college experience.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMy journey started on this campus right after high school,\u201d said Guzman. \u201cI didn\u2019t know much of what I was doing here. I remember getting all of the mandatory registration done and coming to this campus without either of my parents because one lived too far and the other had to work and couldn\u2019t afford to take time off\u2026I remember feeling uncertain and, honestly, scared of what was coming.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n Since this sentiment is relatable to a large percentage of first-year students experiencing a similar life-changing transition, Guzman shared what helped her adjust to her new environment.<\/span><\/p>\n In her first year at Western, becoming connected to a number of on-campus organizations, such as M.E. Ch. A., Abby\u2019s House, the Multicultural Representatives and ASWOU made her feel at home. <\/span><\/p>\n Throughout her journey, Guzman has developed a number of goals; beyond striving to make her family proud, she said that another goal of hers, in earning a degree, was to accomplish something on behalf of all people of color.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAgainst all odds, here we are,\u201d Guzman stated, reminding students it is possible to persevere, even in the face of great difficulty.<\/span><\/p>\n While these first-year students are sure to have a number of their own unique goals moving forward, they are also likely to have fears that they must overcome in the process.<\/span><\/p>\n Even though Guzman has struggled with anxiousness at times when thinking of all the people still being harmed or repressed in the world, she imparted the thought that keeps her going.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHow I overcame (the worry) every time was looking around me and seeing everyone pushing forward, in different areas, to make this world a better place. It\u2019s understanding that maybe one person can\u2019t accomplish everything to be able to do that, but every person at this university is doing something.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n President Fuller also encouraged students to take care of each other through all the difficult situations that come their way.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen you have a bad day, reach out to somebody,\u201d Fuller said. There is an abundance of groups on campus available to a wide variety of people, and he affirmed that it is important for students to be bold and to get involved in order to feel connected.<\/span><\/p>\n After the speeches were given, the new students ate a pancake breakfast and lined up to paint their names on the sidewalk \u2014 leaving a mark on Western that is sure to last for years to come. <\/span><\/p>\n Contact the author at bthompson15@wou.edu<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Photo courtesy of: Paul F. Davis,\u00a0Bailey Thompson<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Bailey Thompson | News Editor On the morning of Sept. 16, a group of students with diverse backgrounds and experiences moved to Western and began a new, exciting chapter in their lives. Throughout this first week, the PLUS team had organized days that were packed with fun and informative events, aiming to familiarize students with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1030,"featured_media":8002,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"modified_by":"The Western Howl","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1030"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7980"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7980\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/files\/2018\/09\/FS-3-683x1024.jpg\")
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