Small groups of freshmen participating in Destination Iowa State activities had more on their minds than finding the clues on their leader’s scavenger hunt sheets Friday afternoon.

“It still hasn’t quite hit me yet,” said Shayla Carlin, freshman in mechanical engineering. “This is actually happening.” 

With their Iowa State knapsacks and name tag lanyards, Carlin and her two other freshmen group members started preparing for their first day of college by attending annual Destination Iowa State student seminars and events kicking off the school year.

The bustling of other freshmen groups on campus only added to the excitement that Carlin’s group, lead by Jacob Spellman, sophomore in agriculture studies, were feeling as they worked on crossing out the remaining 13 missions and clues listed on the scavenger hunt sheet. 

“I’m just ready to get started,” said Mario Williams, freshman in genetics, about the beginning of his freshman year. 

Nate Kanellis, freshman in civil engineering, shared a similar feeling saying that he’s excited about the college experience but is dreading the education aspect and the difficulty of classes. 

The free burgers and other food, swag and especially the new t-shirts with the Iowa State fight song on the back were among the favorite things the freshmen received from the opening ceremonies at Hilton Coliseum Thursday night. 

The speech that Tom Hill, vice president of Student Affairs, gave Thursday about seeing each one of the students back in Hilton in four or five years for graduation sparked Carlin’s attention and became one of her favorite moments of the week’s events.

Seminars about diversity to managing your student debt made for a long day for the group, but they found it helpful and alarming at the same time.

“Credit cards are evil,” said one of the freshman, making the others laugh.

The groups next clue was finding the Grant Wood murals on campus and drawing their own version of “American Gothic.”

“I drew the original,” Williams said. “So I think someone else should do it.”

While searching for the Grant Wood murals in Parks Library, the group talked about the good tips they had learned from the day’s money seminar and their own concerns about student debt.

Worrying about the financial situations they faced in the future didn’t overshadow the prospect of getting involved and making new friends throughout their first year. 

“It’s the next chapter of my life,” Carlin said. “It’s bittersweet. It’s sad, but exciting at the same time.”