MTSU CUSTOMS orientation acclimates Class of ’28 students to their new home

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Just 10 days after the spring Class of 2024 departed from Middle Tennessee State University, the first wave of the Class of ’28 entered campus to acclimate themselves to their new home for the next four years.

Before arriving for CUSTOMS, Cameron Gallaher, 18, of Kingston, and a recent Roane County High School graduate, had never been to MTSU. He plans to study digital marketing in the Jones College of Business.

Middle Tennessee State University Student Orientation Assistant Emmie Neagle, right, of Rockvale, Tenn., checks in a new student and answers her questions Tuesday, May 14, during CUSTOMS orientation in the Student Union Ballroom on the MTSU campus in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Several hundred Class of 2028 members and their parents began the acclimation process during the all-day event. Neagle is a biochemistry major in the pre-physician assistant studies program. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)

Cameron Gallaher, 18, of Kingston, a recent Roane County High School graduate — Cameron Gallaher

“I love marketing in general,” Gallaher said. “I’m a digital native. It’s convenient. I grew up with technology and kept using it. In the area (region), MTSU was the only one with digital marketing as a major.”

Gallaher was among several hundred incoming students, most of them joined by their parents, attending the first of 14 freshmen CUSTOMS orientation sessions on campus Tuesday, May 14. For transfer students, six dates remain available. More than 3,000 freshman and transfer students are expected to attend by early August.

CUSTOMS helps new undergraduate students make the transition into the university from their high schools they recently graduated from and assists transfers making the adjustment from community colleges and four-year schools.

During the first freshman CUSTOMS orientation session Tuesday, May 14, in the Student Union Ballroom, Laurie Witherow, Middle Tennessee State University interim vice provost for Enrollment Services, explains to the audience the opportunities new students will have during the four years they attend MTSU in Murfreesboro, Tenn. She discussed offices providing support, the Campus Recreation Center, James E. Walker Library and more, and said they should connect with faculty, fellow students, join student organizations and attend events. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)

The audience of new Middle Tennessee State University freshmen students and their parents learn more about opportunities the Class of 2028 can experience during the first of 14 CUSTOMS orientation sessions Tuesday, May 14, in the Student Union Ballroom on the MTSU campus in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Orientation prepares them for educational opportunities and initiates their integration into the intellectual, cultural and social climate of campus. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)

Dr. Laurie Witherow, associate vice provost for Admissions and Enrollment Services — Dr. Laurie Witherow

“We are glad you are here,” Laurie Witherow, interim vice provost for Enrollment and Academic Services told the audience seated in the Student Union Ballroom. “We’ve been waiting for you for a year. If you have any doubt (about college), we know you can be successful.

“We know what you’ve been through, to successfully navigate and be here. You have a 100% track record of getting through hard things, and MTSU is designed for making you successful.”

Orientation prepares them for educational opportunities and initiates their integration into the intellectual, cultural and social climate of campus — quickly showing them the ropes of MTSU student life. To learn more about the CUSTOMS experience, including dates throughout the spring and summer, visit https://mtsu.edu/customs/.

Witherow shared about various offices offering support, food availability, the Campus Recreation Center and recommended they check out “our amazing, four-story library.” She also urged them to “connect with faculty, fellow students, join a student organization and attend events.”

Attending a yard party that moved indoors to the Student Union atrium areas because of the weather, new Middle Tennessee State University students and their parents browse the variety of offerings available to them on campus in Murfreesboro, Tenn. CUSTOMS orientation will be held throughout the spring and summer for new freshmen and transfer students. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)

Zoe Geronimo, 18, of Lakewood near Memphis, and a St. Benedict at Auburndale graduate, plans to study psychology in the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences.

Attending with her parents, Ray and Cissy Geronimo, Zoe Geronimo said MTSU “felt like home. I could envision myself here and not anywhere else.” Regarding her major, she said she “heard a lot of good things about the psychology program — that it has a good reputation.”

Witherow told incoming students about the MTSU Summer Reading Book, New York Times bestseller “Laughing Without an Accent/Adventures of a Global Citizen” by Firoozeh Dumas, who will speak at the 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 24, Convocation in Murphy Center.

Becca Smitty, director of the MT One Stop in the Student Services and Admissions Center, discussed financial aid. To learn more, visit https://www.mtsu.edu/one-stop/.

CUSTOMS is coordinated by the Office of New Student and Family Programs, located in Keathley University Center Room 326. For more information, call 615-898-2454 or visit https://mtsu.edu/nsfp/.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)