Q&A with Marie Howison

Marie Howison knows you don’t have to leave behind the activities you loved when coming to a large university. She transferred her high school student government invovlement to her experience at IU.

MAJOR: Marketing with Spanish and apparel merchandising minors
HOMETOWN: Pittsburgh
DORM: Briscoe

Q: Was it hard adjusting from high school to college?

A: Adjusting from high school to college took some time for me. One of the hardest things was being away from home. I was homesick for a while, but after about a month or so when I had made some good friends everything was fine. The other hard thing was studying in advance. In high school I rarely started studying for a test more than a day before, but in college it is really important to study a couple days in advance. It makes you less stressed and your grades better. I don’t feel like I did much to prepare because I really did not know what to expect.

Q: How did you get involved on campus? Did you already have some activities in mind, or did you just see what IU had to offer and then pick something?

A:  I actually became involved in two activities this year. I served as my floor governor for Briscoe Student Government and also joined Women in Business. I did not have any specific activities in mind, but I knew I wanted to be involved, so I looked out for things that interested me. I went to the Women in Business call-out meeting and really liked what I heard. My RA said something about needing floor governors at the beginning of the year, and I had been involved in class council in high school, so I decided to run. I think the best thing to do to get involved is pay attention to the millions of flyers and sidewalk chalk messages you see at the beginning of the year and attend a couple call-out meetings to see what interests you.

Q: What tips do you have for incoming freshmen?

A:  The best thing I can say is to get involved, get to know kids in your classes, so if you miss class you can get notes, or you can study together, go to sporting events, and just have fun. IU offers so many things to students, so take advantage of them while you are here.