My Skidmore transfer story

On my first day at Skidmore, I found myself playing “Would you rather … ?” with 70 other students on a bus en route to the Adirondack Mountains. Even though none of us knew each other, we were thrown dozens of conversation prompts from peer leaders, so the ride was loud from the chatter of excited students.

Along with six others, I was in a different situation than most of the passengers, who were members of the first-year class: We were the transfer students, enrolled in Skidmore’s Transfer Trek, a branch of the College’s Pre-Orientation Program, in hopes of meeting others in our shoes. The weekend was spent playing icebreakers, canoeing to a beach, rail biking, getting to know one another around campfires, and tripping over each other at a hoedown! The Transfer Trek is where I have met my closest friends so far at Skidmore.  

Last spring, I decided to transfer from Richmond, the American International University in London, to Skidmore. It was a hard decision for me as I loved living abroad in London, but my school didn’t have the classes I wanted or the community I belonged in.

I transferred to Skidmore so I could pursue a self-determined major in multimedia journalism and will be spending the next three years taking classes from the English Department, documentary studies courses from Skidmore’s MDOCS program, and classes in communication design from the Art Department.

Since I’ve gotten here, I haven’t regretted my decision once.

My professors have kept classes engaging, and I am able to turn in creative practical work for a grade. Even in my first weeks I’ve been here, I have been appointed to the e-board of the literary magazine Lunchbox as an assistant editor, I’ve been hired as a news assistant for Skidmore’s news team, I’ve joined the Tang Student Advisory Council, where I will be able to help throw events at Skidmore’s art and teaching museum, I have my own travel-themed show on our radio station, and I’ve joined Lively Lucy’s, a club that throws live music events every Thursday on campus. I even camped out one night so I could score a piece of artwork on loan from the Tang to hang in my dorm room.  

For one of my classes, Explorations in Documentary Photo, I decided to photograph the friends I’ve made through the Transfer Trek for a narrative photography project. I’ve followed them around as they have studied at the library, adventured off campus to the Adirondack Hot Air Balloon Festival, laughed in the dining hall, and wandered around campus. (Most of the photos in this story are for that course.) I conducted an interview with each of them and asked how they thought their transfer experiences has been going.

My friend Cori Brothers ’25, an environmental studies major from New York City, transferred from a big state school, because of the mix of courses in the Environmental Studies and Sciences Program, Skidmore’s generous financial aid, and the people: Cori expressed how happy she is being somewhere so down-to-earth, where the students seem to genuinely care about their classes and about their peers.

Renée Fritschel ’25, studying studio art, agreed with her, emphasizing how easy it is to meet people at Skidmore. Renée transferred to Skidmore from a well-known arts school because she wanted to study art and also enjoy all the educational opportunities and experiences available at a liberal arts college.  

The friendliness of Skidmore is something we all agreed on. Walking from class to class means running into familiar faces as it’s such a small campus, and everyone makes sure to smile. People seem to go out of their way to introduce themselves to us as transfer students, and we haven’t had any trouble making friends with students from various classes. This is due to the sense of community that exists on campus.

Events are posted everywhere with colorful posters, so it’s easy to find something to do every weekend. The free concerts have been our favorites.

The three of us share a collected surprise at how quickly we’ve adjusted to life at Skidmore in just one month.

Our schedules are packed with the clubs we’ve joined, we’re excited about the classes we’re taking, and there’s always a friend to sit with at the dining hall. While none of us will feel completely settled in until we’ve had the time to deepen these new connections, the future feels bright at Skidmore.