For students away from the familiarity of home for the first time, loneliness can be part of adjusting to life at Iowa State. Nancy Corbin, assistant director for clinical services at the ISU Student Counseling Service, said establishing oneself in a new place and adjusting to a bigger environment are two things that cause new students to feel lonely. Freshmen and new students have a harder time finding people with similar values or interests, Corbin added. “They need to decide who they are, how they want to be and how to present themselves to the world,” she said. “It is normal for anyone in a new place to experience loneliness.” Nikki Troth, resident assistant for Lowe House in Friley Hall, said more residents on her floor are lonely at the beginning of the year. “Almost everyone feels a pang, a jolt of reality that they are so far away,” said Troth, senior in chemical engineering. Kristin Moore, freshman in psychology, said she was lonely her first night at Iowa State because she missed her family and friends. “Everything was different,” she said. “Nothing was mine.” For international students, loneliness can be even more of a problem, said Jane Edwards, program coordinator for international education services. International students not only are experiencing a new community, but an entirely different culture, where “nothing is familiar,” she said. Miranda Mhango, senior in accounting from Malawi, Africa, said her loneliness never completely went away. Mhango, who has been at Iowa State for a year, said becoming involved in the cross-cultural learning community in Devitt House in Linden Hall helped ease her loneliness. She advised other international students to not stay in their rooms and feel bad but to become involved with others and join clubs. “That way, when you feel like you want to go home, something else will be happening,” she said. While most students get over their loneliness eventually, other students have a harder time coping with the unfamiliar surroundings and may take longer, Corbin said. She said when students feel isolated, they can “take it internally” and cut themselves off from other people. To get out of their rut, students need to “challenge themselves to do something that is over the boundaries of their comfort zone,” Corbin said. She suggests students introduce themselves to new people, attend university events and find out what is available on campus that applies to their interests. Kim Araya, hall director of Oak-Elm Hall, said the residence association tries to help students meet others by hosting pizza parties, movie nights and other get-togethers. “The residence halls are a great place to live the first few years at Iowa State,” she said. Troth said she knows that it is hard to “take the first step” towards meeting others. “[Residents] get hung up that they left the best friend they ever had,” she said. “They have to realize that there will never be another best friend like that, but there can be another best friend at Iowa State with different qualities.” Corbin said student counseling services at Iowa State offer individual counseling, group sessions and crisis intervention to students who are having trouble adjusting to life at Iowa State. “Lots of people go through loneliness, but you don’t have to go through it alone,” Corbin said.