Freshmen students chronicle new life at OU on Web site
Six freshmen at the University of Oklahoma joined the growing ranks of bloggers in 2004, chronicling their new experiences as students on the university’s Web site in a segment known as Boomer Bytes.
For the second year in a row, students were approached by the Center for Student Advancement during the University College Summer Enrollment Program and asked to participate in the activity based on recommendations from student guides. "The students come from a variety of backgrounds and are all fun and outgoing,” said Jay Corwin, associate director of the Center for Student Advancement.
Each student has a Web page that includes personal information, including their hometown and major and their "favorites”— area of campus, crayon color, reality television show, movie and dessert. The students, Susan Hernandez of Ardmore, Rod Jahromi and Torri Lippert of Edmond, Chris Sanders of Oklahoma City, Wink Kopczynski of Longview, Texas, and Sheena Sharapata of Plano, Texas, post their own opinions, activities, advice and pictures to their Web page, giving family and friends the opportunity to catch up while prospective students get an inside glimpse of what life at OU is like for a wide range of students.
In addition to allowing prospective students first-hand glimpses into the transition phase of college, Corwin said other freshmen have enjoyed the journals as a “reality world,” sharing their classmates’ experiences. Additionally, alumni and other members of the Sooner family also have visited the site to see how life has changed since they were on campus, he said.
Boomer Bytes can be viewed at www.ou.edu/boomerbytes/ .
Contact: OU Public Affairs, (405) 325-1701