Transfer students adjust, learn to become Chippewas

Transfer students come to Central Michigan University from all over for a variety of reasons.

Roseville senior Rachael Coppens transferred to CMU to obtain a bachelor's degree in neuroscience.

“I transferred from Macomb Community College, and I was a nursing student there,” Coppens said. “I transferred to CMU because I decided I wanted to get my bachelor's in neuroscience. “

Coppens also wanted to get farther from home and found the university could provide her with opportunities she wouldn't be able to get at a community college.

“I love it here,” Coppens said. “I joined Alpha Gamma Delta in 2009, and I was not a sorority girl when I came here. That was something that I never thought I would do. One of my friends was in it; she had to convince me to come, and once I did, I fell in love with it, and that’s like my whole group of friends now.”

Coppens said bonding with girls in her sorority and the Greek community made a big difference in helping her adjust to her new surroundings.

Mason senior Jennifer Whorl is also a transfer student who befriended the Greek community after transferring from Lansing Community College. Whorl is the vice president of events for the Panhellenic Council and is looking forward to many of the Greek events.

“I’m really looking forward to Greek Gala, because I’m going to be running that,” Whorl said. “I’m going to be changing that around, and I’m really excited for Greek week and a lot of things that Central has.”

Whorl said two of her cousins graduated from CMU, and they persuaded her to visit the campus.

"I moved up here, and I’m basically on my own for everything, and I’ve never been on my own," Whorl said. "I had to be independent. It was really a challenge to be on my own and not have somebody because I moved in with two people I didn’t know.”

Coppens also said the most challenging parts of her transfer experience were being away from home and learning how to better manage finances.

"Financial planning is also hard to adjust to," Coppens said. "I went from having a full-time job and going to school full-time, and then you come up here and you don’t realize how much apartments cost, food costs, bills; you have to plan all that out. So, it took a little while to adjust to making sure everything was on track with that.”

Whorl said Mount Pleasant has differences and similarities to her hometown.

“Mount Pleasant is more of a college town than my hometown,” Whorl said. “My hometown had a college, though. It was a small college like CMU, but I feel like (CMU has) more of a college atmosphere. Also, it is very similar in a way. On campus, anywhere you go, you know someone, and, in my hometown, it was like that.”

Senior Melissa Kasmauski transferred from Muskegon Community College to Central after visiting her best friend and falling in love with the campus.

“It’s basically everything I thought it was,” the Muskegon native said in an email. “It’s not a huge campus, so I don’t feel like I’m getting lost all the time, and I feel comfortable here.”

Starting out, Kasmauski would wander around in her car trying to find where everything was and what events were going on. Now that she’s more situated, she said she does not regret her decision to come to CMU and is confident she made the right choice.

“I feel very comfortable at CMU. It’s my home away from home, you could say,” Kasmauski said.