HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – In just a few weeks some high school graduates will head to college and both students and parents are feeling anxiety build up.
Pacific University in Oregon helped to ease the transition into college and living on the mainland yesterday with a welcome event called “808 to 503.”
Dozens of students met their future classmates at Moanalua Middle School to prepare for the next chapter.
Assistant director of admissions at Pacific University, Donna Ramos Barsana, said, “I always joke with the students I say being in Oregon is not study abroad it’s just being on the mainland and a lot of it is just adjusting to being away from home, the comfort of the home with the food, their family especially.”
“But what I love about it is because of the community at Pacific being over 10 plus staff members from the state of Hawaii in different departments they’re able to transition really well,” Barsana added.
They also connected with peer mentors who are current students from Hawaii where they could answer questions about the student life, housing, and athletics.
Volunteer Donny Maa said, “I think the parents are more scared than the students, I think the students cannot wait to go and enjoy life, I think it’s just the parents and here we can tell the parents some of the things that happen at Pacific.”
The University says about 20 percent of the students at Pacific come from Hawaii and some even decide to stay in Oregon after graduation.
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