Meet rising sophomore Hilda Barrioz. Hilda is an Athletic Training major all the way from Farmington, New Hampshire! She tells us more about how Rowan became her home away from home and how she adjusted to living on campus in South Jersey.
Tell us a about the change from New Hampshire to South Jersey:
South Jersey was a huge change for me because not only was it far from home but also New Jersey is wildly different than New Hampshire.
Rowan is roughly a 7-hour drive from my house, so making Rowan a home away from home was really important to me. I made sure to print out a bunch of pictures of my friends and family and of course my pets. I hung all them on a set of string lights so that I’d be able to see them every time I went back to my dorm. I also made sure to bring an air freshener version of my favorite candle and some other little decorations from home.
Living in the dorm wasn’t a new experience for me because I had gone to prep school for part of high school, but New Jersey was a bigger change than I realized. Even the trees and flowers were different than the ones I had at home. I had to get used to the lack of wild animals, like deer and the occasional bear. Rowan mainly has geese. I also have an off-campus job so I needed to get gas. Getting gas for the first time was a weird experience because my whole life I grew up pumping my own gas, and then suddenly I was in a state where people did it for you.
How have you made Rowan your home away from home?
Rowan really has become a home away from home to me and I’ve met some of the most amazing people here and made friends that I don’t know what I would do without. This community is a place where I can be myself, meet new people everyday, and support my friends from other teams. I didn’t realize I could fall in love with a place that’s an hour away from the beach, but South Jersey and Rowan really has my heart.
Like what you see?
Story by:
Bianca Torres, senior music industry major
Photo provided by:
Hilda Barrioz, sophomore athletic training major
Header photo courtesy of:
Unsplash