Justine Spooner’s letter shows what is possible when you bring your whole self to a new setting. Reflecting on the transition from her small town high school to the University of Iowa, she recalled, "People would tell me that I was just going to be a number here, and that this city won’t have a community like I’m used to. But, when I toured the campus, it just felt like home."

Dear Prospective Student,

Congratulations on making it this far! We know this time can be very stressful, and hopefully our insight can help a little. I’m sure you have a lot of questions, and us ambassadors are ready to take them! I definitely leaned on my upperclassmen friends as a first-year student, and we want to give you that helping hand.

I am Justine, and I am from Cherokee, Iowa. I am currently a third-year student, studying Exercise Science on a pre-physical therapy track. Honestly, for the majority of high school, I didn’t think I was going to end up at Iowa. People would tell me that I was just going to be a number here, and that this city won’t have a community like I’m used to. But, when I toured the campus, it just felt like home. I’m thankful every day that I chose this university, the place where I have grown personally and academically. I have made some of my best friends here and have memories to last a lifetime. Iowa City has become my home, and I hope that all of you get that same experience.

In high school, most of my classes only had 15 students. Our class would literally go to the teacher’s house for homework help. So, the thought of big class sizes was pretty intimidating. But, within the Honors Program, my classes were smaller. This definitely allowed me to relax a little more and smoothed my transition from high school to college. In these classes, it is much easier to ask questions, thus furthering my learning. The other students within your class are highly motivated as well, allowing great discussions to take place. Even in my lectures of hundreds of students, I got to be in the lab with the professor due to the Honors Program.

Coming from farther away, I didn’t know lots of people when I first came to campus. Having Honors Primetime as well as 2 other Honors classes within my first semester was a great way to connect with people on campus. Seeing familiar faces was very relaxing for me, and it made the transition to a new city much easier than I thought it could ever be. Honors Primetime helped me get familiar with the campus before official classes started, and before I knew it, I didn’t need to use Maps to get to Van Allen Hall.

I hope that this letter is a message to you that although college is a huge change, embrace it. All of the ambassadors you saw on this page were once nervous

first-years too, wondering how to work the Cambus app and calling their parents for help with laundry. You will make it through too. If my freshman year self saw me right now, I think she would be pretty happy to see all that I have done here so far, and the amazing people that are by my side.

Best Wishes and Go Hawks!

Justine Spooner