Monday, Aug. 24, marked the first day of classes for Brenau University students. Though many students are excited to be on campus, due to COVID-19, the day was different from usual. Students wore masks and had to social distance inside and outside of the classroom. As of Tuesday, Aug. 25, total enrollment across all Brenau campuses was about 2,780 students.
Enrollment will continue to fluctuate as registration continues, but Brenau is expected to welcome more than 800 new students on all campuses. A few students shared their experiences during some downtime on the Gainesville campus.
“It’s pretty exciting to be back,” Valentina Pabon said. “It’s nice to be outside and see everybody. The beginning with all of the changes is going to be a little strange but we’re going to get used to it.”
“I love the first day of classes,” Hannah Parks said. “My first college class ever starts at 1:15 p.m. I feel very comfortable on campus. I’m really eager to start cheering and for competitions to start.”
“I’m actually excited to be back on campus,” Tim Hall said. “I’m interested to see if they’re going to allow performances or social distanced performances. Dancing with masks is pretty easy. I took some classes over the summer and didn’t see a problem with it. I’m just excited for the whole year to see how everything plays out.”
“It feels pretty good to be back,” Paige Silvey said. “There’s obviously a lot of change because not everybody’s as close to each other. But for me, it still feels like school and other than the mask and the Zoom meetings, it’s pretty much the same. I still feel at home.”
“My first day is going pretty well,” Janan Mirza said. “It feels different, but I think all of the professors are trying to make it fun even though a lot of things are online and not face-to-face.”
