The team bustles with fresh faces as the newest iteration of the Washington University men’s soccer team sweats through its preseason workouts in the sweltering St. Louis heat. With one of their largest freshmen classes in years, the Bears are primed to get back on top after a 7-7-2 season last fall.

My college experience freshman year was not at all what I had anticipated it being. I initially expected to be working like crazy most of the time but spend my downtime with groups of friends. Instead, I found myself completely unmotivated to work and spending most of my time in my dorm room, alone.

Like most students coming to campus for their first college semester, freshman Kathy Young felt fairly anonymous—but unlike her peers, she already carried a bit of fame. During her junior year in high school, Young became a renowned singer in South Korea following her performances in the inaugural season of the show “K-pop Star.

Senior Staff Advice Whether a three-year veteran of Washington University or just 12 months removed from the first stay on campus, every member of Student Life’s staff has been a new student at some point. We have all had our highs and our lows, and we are eager to share our thoughts on surviving—and enjoying!—the freshman experience.

Introversion is the paralyzing fear that everybody in the universe—except your mom, maybe—thinks you’re an idiot. I doubt that’s the actual definition, but as a terrified freshman who gets sweaty palms when asking for a pencil, it accurately sums up how I feel about starting college.

It is not unusual for freshmen to see playing time on the Washington University men’s and women’s basketball teams, but regardless, the play of Melissa Gilkey and Brayden Teuscher has been exemplary. Through five games, Teuscher has averaged 13.2 points per game (second on the men’s side), while shooting .400 (12 of 30) from behind the 3-point line and averaging 2.

Last Sunday, freshmen art students from Professor Mary Borgman’s Drawing II class displayed their work in “Mastercopy and Portrait Exhibition.” Organized by Residential Area Real Art (RARA), the event was the first of its kind to take place in the newly built College Hall on the South 40.

Freshmen can take a study break at 6 p.m. on Wednesday in Graham Chapel for what may become a new Washington University tradition: Freshman Finale. Following the spirit of Freshman Orientation and Convocation, Freshman Finale will provide closure for students’ first year at the University and prepare them for the upcoming sophomore experience.

As the Office of Orientation prepares for its annual Washington University Student Associate selection process, the relatively young program seems to have been successful in helping freshmen and transfer students with their transition into college life. The WUSA selection process is becoming increasingly competitive, and the Office of Orientation expects to see a rise from last year’s approximately 300 applications.

While organizations across campus are busy trying to attract students to their events with free food, freshman Stan Rosenthal launched a Web site called nomealpoints.com to facilitate an exchange of this information. Nomealpoints.com launched on Jan. 19, the first day of spring semester, and lists all of the free food events that are happening on campus each day.