Adjusting to College

Combatting an Erasure of My Identity: Feeling Unforeign in Oldenborg

Posted on March 29, 2023March 29, 2023 by Vidusshi Hingad

Vids in long skirt against glittery backdrop

By Vids Hingad ‘25 A ticket from Terminal 2, Chattrapatti Shivaji Terminal in Mumbai to LAX. A 26-hour journey. Four oceans in the middle. Before boarding the flight from Mumbai to LAX, my dadi (grandma) always used to put a teeka on my forehead. This red dot symbolized that, no matter where I am, she would protect me and guide me. Guilty of wondering what strangers would...

Midnight Walks Around The 5Cs

Posted on January 10, 2023 by Young Seo Kim

By Young Seo Kim ‘26 You’re one of the 50 Pomona College first-year students who came early to campus. It’s nighttime, and you’re bored. The Village is closed and you and your friends don’t own a car to travel outside of Claremont. What’s a better idea than going out at night and walking around campus with your friends? It was my third night in Claremont. After going thro...

Approaching Normalcy

Posted on December 2, 2022November 30, 2022 by Porter Reyes

icon for 5C friend is chicken with antlers

By Porter Reyes ‘25 Being a first-year at Pomona last year was weird. We were getting close to “normal,” but the pandemic’s effect on the first-year experience was tangible. This year, however, things are different for the new first-year class and the entire student body as Pomona approaches normalcy. Staples of life at Pomona, such as Orientation Adventure, cross-campus...

A First-Year’s Largely Unhelpful Guide to Showing Your Family Around Campus

Posted on November 28, 2022 by Emma Neeb

By Emma N. ‘26 A couple weeks ago, my family came to visit. Since I’m an international student, that was the first time they’ve made the trip “across the pond” to see the place I now call home, the first time they got to see Pomona College with their own eyes, rather than through FaceTime. I was overjoyed, of course, and incredibly grateful that they were able to come to visit...

First-Year Adventures in Southern California

Posted on November 8, 2022 by Marc Beaulac

By Marc Beaulac ‘26 As a first-year, it has been interesting transitioning into independent life, especially as the plethora of activities that Pomona College offers keeps one in the 5C bubble. However, one of the elements I have appreciated the most is the activities that can be found in Claremont as well as the whole of L.A. county. During the relative peacefulness of f...

A Letter to My First-Year Self

Posted on October 20, 2022 by Serena Lin

By Serena Lin ‘25 Tip #4: It's ok to fail … cut yourself some slack. (To be continued…) Throughout my first year, I started the practice of writing weekly letters to myself to celebrate, commiserate, and collect meaningful moments. As I completed my first month of my sophomore year, I decided to write a letter to my first-year self. Hopefully, you'll find some of thi...

Making a “Home” at Pomona

Posted on September 29, 2022 by Arie Lewis-Pugh

By Arie Lewis Pugh ‘26 It’s the third week of school, and I’ve said the words “I’m Arie” more times than I can count. It’s strange meeting so many people and wondering which of them will feature in the memories everyone says college is about. In these first three weeks, I’ve tried my hardest to attend every event, dance, and group dinner in the hopes of finding “my people.” ...

Super Study Spots

Posted on September 1, 2022September 21, 2022 by Emma Grace Howlett

Emma and a friend on a rooftop with San Gabriel mountains backdrop

By Emma Grace Howlett ‘25 During my first semester at Pomona, I found myself swept away by a shower of fun social events and extracurricular opportunities. However, I found it hard to balance a heavy school workload with such a wealth of social resources. It took a few months to find an equilibrium, and, most importantly, good study spots. Thanks to the natural beauty and Ed...

Top Ten Tips for Incoming First-Years (From an Outgoing First-Year)

Posted on August 23, 2022September 21, 2022 by Hasana Parker

By Hasana Parker '25 (1) Get a nice lamp for your room. Good lighting makes all the difference in your room! Warm lighting makes your bedroom feel homey and changes the look of your room completely. My roommate and I turned on the overhead lighting in our room like 5 times during the school year because we just absolutely loved the lamp I got off of Amazon. (2) Bri...

Learning to Dance in the Rain

Posted on July 29, 2022September 21, 2022 by Seohyeon Lee

By Seohyeon Lee ‘25 As an incoming first year, I was excited to explore my wide-ranging interests at a liberal arts college. I was eager to learn how to ask my own questions instead of memorizing textbooks to get better grades. During my gap year, I started making an impossibly long list of activities I wanted to try in college. Four years seemed long enough to try all of th...