Ahead of the start of fall classes, Spalding’s new traditional first-year students were introduced to campus with the three-day Engage orientation program. (Check out lots of pictures and tag yourself or folks you know in the Engage/Welcome Week album on the Spalding Facebook page.)
We used Engage as a chance to catch up with several of the new freshmen – about 190 traditional first-year students have registered for classes – to get their thoughts on coming to Spalding and why it was a good fit.
Why Spalding?
“The reason I chose this school is because I feel like they genuinely care about their students, and I think (Engage) is a good example of that. The fact that it’s a small school, there is a really good teacher-to-student ratio. They obviously want you to succeed. It’s a really diverse atmosphere. Stuff like Engage, not a lot of schools do an orientation like this, so I think they really want you to feel comfortable.” – Kelly McCulloch, psychology major, Clarksville High School
“My teacher recommended it. He had an Ivy Plus program, and he set he set us up with like high-level liberal arts schools. He knew I didn’t want to go out of state, so he looped me into Spalding. I came on a campus visit, and they showed me the nursing department, and I just knew it. I like small classes. The faculty is really nice.” – Hailey Wentworth, nursing major, Fern Creek High School
“I knew I wanted to come to a school in Louisville because there are a lot of job opportunities outside of school around Louisville. Like if you want to get into art, you go to Louisville. I chose this school because I like the smaller classes.” – Kadyn Wilson, studio art major, Central Hardin High School
“I wanted to come to a smaller school. (A big university), that’s too big for me. I wanted a smaller environment. I like that the class sizes are smaller so that more so, if you need that one-on-one help, you can have that. … It was nice, the people were nice. I felt welcome, and like I said with the small environment, it was just a nice feeling. … Nursing is something I always wanted to do, and they’re known for their nursing program.” – Baileigh Haskins, nursing major from Ballard High School
“The (men’s golf) coach tried to recruit me, and when I came on campus, I really liked it. I love that it’s in downtown Louisville, and I’m just about 30 minutes away from home, so it’s just like home. I like the coach, and I decided to come here. … I like the location of the school. It’s sort of perfect. You can do anything. There’s a bunch of stuff to do. So when I’m not on the golf course or at work, there’s always something to do.” – Hayden Hope, Christian Academy of Indiana grad, men’s golf athlete
“I took a Norton class at my high school, and my nursing teacher graduated from Spalding. That’s how I got to know Spalding. … The reason I want to be a nurse is because I’m a diabetic, and I want to teach and become a diabetic educator. A big way to get there is to become a nurse, and you can get certified after you become a nurse.” – Whitney Bundy, nursing major, Jeffersonville High School grad
“I know a lot of people who taught at (alma mater) Providence High School came here for their master’s or doctorate. That’s one thing that got me interested. I thought, ‘Oh, this must be a really interesting school.’ The main reason that I chose Spalding is that it has the occupational therapy program, and I know a lot of people come here for that, and it’s one of the few in this area that has a really good occupational program.” – Emma Wade, health science major with plans to bridge into occupational therapy graduate program, Providence High School grad
“It’s a good fit for me because everybody is more social here. Everybody gets to know everybody, and you get to figure out new things from different people. It’s very diverse, very open. I thought that was pretty cool.” – Troy Amanor, studio art (graphic design) major, Western Hills High School grad
“I like the block scheduling and the class sizes, and I liked how everyone was super inclusive. If you have a question, they’ll always answer it or find someone to answer it. ” – Taylor Skrine, education major, Nelson County High School grad
“It was close to home, and I like the small-community environment. My visit was uplifting and made me feel at home.” – Madi Jaggers, health science major with plans to bridge into occupational therapy graduate program, Pleasure Ridge Park High School grad
More on the appeal of a small campus
“With the size of campus, you can’t really get lost, and even if you do while you’re looking for a building, someone will tell you, ‘It’s right there, right across the street!’ I come from a smaller town, so moving to the bigger city, I thought I would be scared living in downtown, but the campus is really safe, and we’ve made our group of friends already. We meet up in the lobby and say, ‘Hey, let’s go do something. Let’s go get ice cream.'” – Taylor Skrine, Nelson County grad
“I’m already used to a small community of people. There were 113 people in my graduating class. Everybody knew everybody. … So it feels very familiar. I know people who are like, ‘There are 3,000 people in my freshman class,’ and I’m like, there are less than a few hundred in mine, so that makes it seem very similar to high school.” – Emma Wade, Providence grad
“My high school graduating class was 72 people. It’s a very small school – 300 people total in the whole school – so I definitely was not even thinking about going to a big college. And I like the small campus because I feel like you get connections with almost everyone. It’s a new start, which is really good.” – Kelly McCulloch, Clarksville grad