Images by AMANDA DAIT
The subject of these photos is Madeline. Madeline is a sophomore at Penn State studying food science. Her hometown is Morristown, New Jersey and she spoke on her process of choosing Penn State saying she enjoyed the community PSU had to offer and that quite a few people from her hometown are here as well. She comes from a small, close-knit family but said despite this, it’s exciting having the opportunity to be away from home.
When I asked Madeline, who goes by Maddy, and her two friends Wendy and Elilta, what brought them out on such a cold day, their immediate response was “procrastination,” which is a fair and relatable point for most college students. The girls remarked that the night before, Sunday, they weren’t feeling motivated to drag themselves out of their dorms in South Halls to be surrounded by other students that decided to take move-in carts, lunch trays – anything they could scrounge up, really – for sledding down the HUB lawn.
“We just wanted something more lowkey, that’s why we grabbed the sleds we brought from home,” Madeline said.
Madeline explained that none of them were trying to be surrounded by too many people, a precaution to avoid COVID, stating that they are some of the few that stick to wearing masks in all buildings and appreciating mask mandates now that it’s so cold.
We spoke on the similar struggles of being freshman entirely online and trying to make friends in a COVID safe way. The girls did, however, recognize and appreciate the friendships that they created with one another as they lived in the same building last year, and hope that as the world adapts to COVID, there will be more COVID friendly events in the near future to meet new people and make new friends.
Amanda Dait 