University of Idaho freshman Leah Uptmor wants to tell herself from the beginning of the semester good luck.
Uptmor, a member of the Kappa Delta sorority, said the beginning of the semester was rough and she now has to buckle down to get the grades she wants.
“Test anxiety is a real thing,” Uptmor said with a laugh.
Throughout high school, Uptmor said she never really had to study and could skate by. But after midterms hit her hard this semester, she has found college to be different.
Mamta Kandel | Argonaut
Leah Uptmor (second from left) and her friends from Kappa Delta.
She spends most of her time at the study table in her house and has almost completed the number of study hours required for the whole year in the first semester.
Over the course of the semester, Uptmor has switched from a business major to a public relations major. She still wants to be an event or wedding planner, but said she is a little unsure how many business courses she will have to take.
Yet, classes haven”t made up all of Uptmor”s first semester on campus. On Wednesday she and a group of friends went to take photos with Santa in the Idaho Commons. During the walk home, they started a snowball fight, which was surprising to Uptmor because in high school snowball fights are banned.
As the group of students were walking down a hill, a person on the other team threw a snowball at Uptmor”s team and missed them and narrowly missed a tour group on campus.
Uptmor said she also enjoyed attending and helping at Kappa Delta”s Shamrock soccer tournament philanthropy. The sisterhood raised money for Prevent Child Abuse America, which Uptmor said was a good organization to give money to.
Homecoming was the most unexpected thing during Uptmor”s first semester at UI. She said her parents and their college friends came to tailgate and visit for the Homecoming Game and while she was out tailgating she met someone from Canada. She said it was also cool to see Kappa Delta alumnae come to visit campus as well.
“I got the sense that you will leave, but you will always come back,” Uptmor said. “It”s Vandal Pride.”
At the beginning of the school year, Uptmor was not 100 percent sure if Idaho would be the right place for her. Now, Uptmor said she couldn”t imagine herself being anywhere else.
“I am so proud of my choice to be a Vandal,” Uptmor said. “Now I know where I am supposed to be.”
Claire Whitley can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @Cewhitley24