No chores. No curfew. Freedom. College. You've been thinking about this moment for awhile. Now, as you pull into Storm Lake, it's finally here.

While your first step on campus may be a bit hesitant, each one will grow bolder and more confident as your surroundings become increasingly familiar with every trip to unpack your car. Your anxiety is replaced with excitement as you see more and more people unloading their own vehicles, like you, for the first time.

Now it's time to start living at BVU...time to start to think, to explore, to grow.

One of the first things you will see is one of the most recognizable landmarks on BVU's campus - the Victory Arch. Located on top of the (underground) Harold Walter Siebens School of Business/Siebens Forum, the arch served as the entry to Old Main, the central building on campus from 1893 until it was destroyed by fire in 1956. Now, the Victory Arch symbolizes a gateway between BVU's rich past and bold vision of the future. During the Founder's Day celebration, you will walk with other incoming freshmen through the arch for the first time, taking your first few steps on your college journey. Upon graduation, after countless classes, papers, and late-night study sessions; after loads of games, trips, parties, dates...after many, many memories, you will walk through the Victory Arch again, in the opposite direction, symbolizing your first few steps into life.

Those first few hours on campus will be brimming with activity. You'll meet all the people who will be living around you. You'll meet many people - some just like you; some very different. But they all have one thing in common. They all have arrived eager to learn...ready to succeed.

This transition to college life will be not only exciting, but also emotional. Moving away from home, separating yourself from friends and family, can be a bit daunting. The BVU Residence Life staff is aware of all these feelings and is eager to help with this change.

The Orientation Team, or O-Team, is an organization composed primarily of upper-class students designed to connect with and mentor incoming students. Your O-Team leader will help you familiarize yourself with BVU's campus and the Storm Lake community. Your schedule will be packed with social activities - games, meals, dances - all designed to make the most of your early days on campus. All designed to help you meet new people, foster friendships, and enjoy campus life firsthand.

Spending your first few days with the O-Team will help guide you onto a path lined with success. Now it's time to take your first steps down that path.

Welcome to your bright future...welcome to Buena Vista University. Make yourself at home.