MADI

Somehow, the last few years of college have flown by, and I am about to be a graduate of Michigan State University. It is unbelievable to think that just a few years ago, I was just a freshman in a new state with a bunch of new people. MSU has essentially become a second home for me.

Within my MSU experience, my time in James Madison College has been an integral part. One of the best parts about it has been my time as a member of the Madison Academic Diversity Initiative (MADI). I have been a member of the program since my freshman year, and the experiences I have received through the program have been nothing short of amazing.

At the start of my spring semester freshman year, I went on a weekend long retreat with several Madison students that I barely knew. As an out of state student, I was particularly excited about the opportunity to meet new people. I did not know that I would get lasting friendships out of it. The best part about these friendships though is that they are with people who are different from me in many ways. We might not have connected with each other in Madison otherwise.

In addition to the great relationships I got from participating in the retreat, I also had the opportunity to be exposed to a wealth of the resources that the college and university can provide. For many students in their first year, it can be a bit overwhelming to have so much in your face but participating in MADI is definitely a way to make the first year experience even better! There is a chance to have lunch with the deans, meet JMC alumni, connect with JMC Career services, and more!

Beyond the experiences it brings freshman year, MADI brings an affiliation with the Office of Diversity Programming that hosts a number of great events throughout the school year. Additionally, you have the chance, as an older student, to share your experience and advice with freshmen after you. This also gives the opportunity to be a leader that might not be so easy to find on this huge campus!

Overall, through my participation in MADI, I got connected to the college in variety of ways that might not have occurred otherwise. It is now a full year program and is worth considering if you are planning to come to Madison. It is a change to engage with your Madison community in a way that will make all the difference for your four years here at Madison. That’s a promise.

Florence

Senior

IR

Quidditch at MSU!

     One of my favorite organizations that I am in is the Michigan State University Spartan Quidditch club. Now, I know what you’re thinking, “From Harry Potter?” “Do you use brooms?” “Do you really fly?” and “That’s for nerds.” To answer your questions and to agree with your statement: Yes. Yes. Have you heard of brooms that can actually fly? I think not. And yes I am somewhat of a nerd, but don’t we all have a little bit of nerdiness within ourselves? Let me tell you a little bit more about the club. It is a full contact co-ed sport, with three different types of balls, a quaffle, three bludgers, and a snitch. The club itself has two entities; the first one is the club itself, where people get together, hangout and bond. The second part is the travel team. The travel team goes to tournaments all across the Midwest and the nation. By doing this I have gotten the opportunity to have great bonding experiences with my teammates and meet great people that attend other universities across the nation.

      

MSU Quidditch Team

      This club takes up a good amount of my free time, but that is only because I love it so much, and I allow it to. This club has helped me establish a lot of close friends; I never knew I was capable of having. Since I am from Memphis, Tennessee I did not know a single person at Michigan State, let alone, in the state of Michigan, aside from some friend’s grandmas that I had never met. Because of this, my first week of school was a little rough. But luckily I got involved with this club. The members of this club have become what I call my, “Michigan State Family.” I call them that because we have been through thick and thin, and I know they will always be there for me when I need them. So, if you’re an out of state student, or even in state, worried about making friends when you get here, my advice to you is to be active and get involved, because it is really easy to a Michigan State Family of your own.

Brandon

Sophomore

CCP & Film Studies

Getting Involved in the Honors College

          Since I have been at Michigan State, I have had the opportunity to be a part of several great student organizations. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be the Honors College Dean’s Advisory Council. I have been an active member since the beginning of my freshman year. During the second semester, I was appointed to be the Public Relations officer. Now, I am going on my second year as the President. You might be wondering what it is about such an organization that has kept me involved. Well, I have to say that as an Honors College member an organization like this is quite important because the whole honors college student body needs representatives. At the same time, the Dean and the rest of the staff need to know what the students think. Ultimately, what we do as a council is what makes this organization great. In addition to basically being the “changemakers” within the honors college, we have grown close as a membership, and I have several good friends that I probably would not have otherwise.

            As I am writing this post, I feel weird just naming one organization that has be an amazing part of my MSU experience. I have not necessarily been the best at narrowing things down. When I first came to MSU, I was overwhelmed with knowing that there were over 600 student organizations here. I was sure that there was an organization for almost every interest that I had. As a result, I kind of went crazy at Sparticipation (an annual event where all the student organizations have tables set up for new and returning students to see what they do). I was involved in way more organizations that I can handle! In retrospect, joining all those groups helped me figure out what I was truly passionate about. I will say that you shouldn’t even worry about finding extracurriculars or clubs to get involved with! There are more than you know here, but I will say don’t be too eager because you might end up in over your head (like me!) freshman year!! At the end of the day, extracurriculars and clubs are definitely some of the best parts of your MSU experience (especially if you are an international or out-of state student- you get to me lots and I mean lots of people!). I hope that if you any of you decide to attend MSU, you find yourself involved in some pretty great organizations.

Florence

Junior

IR & PTCD 

From Mississippi to Madison: Out of State Perspective

“Where are you going to school?” “Michigan State.” “Oh wow, that’s far. It’s cold up there, isn’t it?” Now, if I had a dollar for how many times I had this conversation my senior year of high school, I probably would far from the mark of the typical broke college student. Unfortunately, that’s not how the world works, so here I am in Michigan…in the cold…and far from home. I am from Hattiesburg, Mississippi! Most people haven’t heard of this city, but if you’re at least familiar with the Gulf Coast (Gulfport/Biloxi), it’s an hour north of there. You might be wondering, “Why is she at Michigan State?” Well there are a lot of answers to that question, but the biggest things for me were the Honors College and James Madison College. I knew that between the two, Michigan State was the place for me. The decision to come here was pretty easy after I visited here a couple of times. I literally fell in love with campus and everything that MSU was about. I knew I couldn’t see myself anywhere else. Fortunately, everything worked out, and here I am having the time of my life. 

I believe that being an out of state student has shaped my experience here at MSU by pushing beyond my limits and out of my comfort zone. These two things are something that anybody should aim to do during their college years, but I had to do so from the very beginning. I didn’t know anybody here, and I also knew as much about MSU and East Lansing as I was told during my visits. When I first got up here, I had the choice to either put myself out there to try and make friend while getting familiar with the area or keeping to myself. I chose the former, and I am glad I did. Beyond all this, being from Mississippi definitely makes breaking the ice easy! I already have so much to talk about with someone because Mississippians aren’t all over the place here in Michigan. 

Of course, with any good comes the bad, but it’s not too bad. As an out of state student, most of my time is spent here in East Lansing during the school year. Some out of state students go home for thanksgiving break, but since it is so short, most choose to stay on campus. The other breaks are lengthy enough, but the issue comes in when you just want to get away from campus for a weekend- you really can’t. With that comes tip number #1, make friends who live in Michigan!!! It can really come in handy sometimes, but I believe the lack of ability to have a regular change of scenery made the madison transition a little harder because being around JMC, Case, and other madison students is already a regular thing, but it is even more of a big deal if you’re out of state because you’re around it 99% of the time. For me, it took some adjusting to that because sometimes I would just want to get away for a bit, so I’d end up just getting frustrated with having the same scene all the time. This is probably the worst thing that comes along with being an out of state student in Madison. Other than that, it’s pretty cool! As an out of state student, especially since I’m from the south, I bring a different perspective on issues that are being discussed in class. You could do the exact same!

I know that when planning to go to school out of state from wherever you live, there are always a lot of people who don’t think it’s the best idea or even try to talk you out of it. Tip #2- Do what you think is best for you! I know would have missed out on so much had I let the distance or fear of the cold or anything else keep me from attending MSU. That being said, if you’re out of state and considering coming to Michigan State, I highly recommend it (no surprise there!). I do have some suggestions though. 

1- Allow yourself to miss home. You don’t need to act like to don’t miss it in order to stay afloat here. It’s natural, so let nature run its course!

2- Try to make friends and get involved/plugged in as soon as you can!

3- Try joining clubs or groups that feature some traveling because it’s nice to get away from East Lansing whenever you can (Ex. I joined MSUIRO which is the competitive Model UN team here, and I was able to go to Philadelphia last fall for a conference! It was great)

4- Don’t forget about friends back home! It’s hard to manage the friendships from far away, but they are essentially your easily accessible to key to home next to your family. It’s definitely manageable to balance friendships here and at home.

5- Don’t let being an out of state student hold you back from ANYTHING! Once you come to MSU, you are just like everybody else here- an MSU student. The fact that you’re not from around here shouldn’t mean at thing!

6- Finally, this is the biggest thing. Remember that you’re at MSU because you want something from MSU. Whatever that might be go and get it and chase after it constantly! You’re here for a reason, so shine bright :)

Florence 

Sophomore 

International Relations and Comparative Cultures & Politics