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Written by LeeAnn Searfoss
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Thursday, 25 August 2011 14:08 |
 Just graduated from high school and looking forward to your college years? Preparing for that big move can have its ups and downs. New environments, new faces, and new experiences await freshmen learners as they contemplate their first year of higher education. As students say goodbye to their friends and family and gather their books and materials for classes, those who go away to school must also prepare for a move into a student living arrangement.
From campus to campus, housing can be quite different. The Northeastern Pennsylvania region not only offers students a wide variety of schools, but housing options also vary accordingly. Everything from traditional dorms to mansion-style housing gives students an opportunity to create a new space all their own.
While decorating can be an opportunity for students to stretch their creative muscles and express their tastes and interests, students and parents work to pinch as many pennies as possible when it comes to decorating. If college students are looking for more creative (and sometimes cheaper) approaches, they need not look farther than their own homes and craft stores. Packing up personal belongings and sentimental items can make the transition from high school to college easier for many students. Creating a collage of pictures of family and friends from high school to hang on a wall can give students the connections to their homes that they may miss when they enter a college setting.
Megan Sellick, assistant director of Resident Life at King’s College, in Wilkes-Barre, suggests keeping a few open spaces in those collages for “the pictures still to come.”
Heather Pieszala, a 2011 Wyoming Valley West High School graduate, recently headed to Penn State University’s (PSU) Main Campus to begin her study of engineering. While PSU is a whole new environment for Pieszala, she took certain parts of home with her to help decorate her new digs, including Audrey Hepburn posters.
Another way to fill up a room or apartment is to confer with your new roommates. Many schools are located near local retail stores that offer a wide selection of dorm paraphernalia. Sellick’s office recommends that students work together to coordinate pieces for their dorms and apartments.
“We always recommend that they coordinate with their roommates before they go out and spend significant amounts of money on items for a room,” Sellick said. “We specifically recommend this with regard to big items such as TVs, microwaves, and mini refrigerators.”
Sellick also suggested that co-purchasing items makes sense for many necessities.
“It can also be handy when talking about décor,” she added. “For example, why purchase a chair or futon for a room if your roommate has one already?”
Sellick reminds new students that not every piece needs to be new. She suggests “repurposing” certain household or kitchen items.
“If you need dishware, for example, why purchase new if your family has a few extra sets packed in the basement?” Sellick asked.
Lehigh University, located in Bethlehem, Pa., holds an annual yard sale of older students’ dorm and apartment decorations for younger students to pick up a little more cheaply than purchasing at retail stores. Also, students who have graduated or are moving offer used furniture to younger students.
Along similar lines, students should look to older siblings, cousins, etc., for their room decorating needs. If a student has an older brother or sister, or even a friend who is already in school, these can be good resources to find inexpensive or practically free items to decorate that new space. Getting that old kitchen table your brother no longer needs or the couch your cousin is done with are cheap and easy ways to decorate.
Along with photos, many students, like Pieszala, choose to decorate their bare dorm room walls with posters. Wilkes University, in Wilkes-Barre, as well as King’s College, both sponsor poster sales throughout the school year to give students access to dorm decorations without having to drive all over town to find them.
At the end of the day, your dorm or apartment is sure to be an expression of your taste and talent. Enjoy making your home away from home exactly that.
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