By Torie Wright 

Note: This is the first in a series of interviews with ONU students, simply answering the question: "Where are they from?"

I was at the end of a line of cars the other day, which got me to thinking. Ada’s population seemingly doubles when ONU is in session. For the first time in my nearly 22 years living here, I wondered where the people I share this town with come from. I decided to find out.

I wandered around ONU’s campus and found 18-year-old freshman Psychology major Tessa Duffy, who sat down with me to talk.

It turns out that Duffy’s hometown is Wilmington, which Duffy said is south of us, “kind of between Cincinnati and Dayton.” When I asked how long it takes to get from there to here, her immediate response was “It depends who’s driving.” Duffy went on to say that she arrived in an hour and 45 minutes whereas when her mother drove, the trip took nearly 2 ½ hours.

Duffy’s only college visit was at ONU, where she fell in love with the “beautiful campus.” She also said she liked the fact that the campus has so many squirrels.

“I love squirrels.” Duffy said with a laugh.

Duffy also appreciates the small class sizes that allow students to get to know the teachers.

Toward the end of our meeting I asked Duffy if she was surprised by the size of Ada when she first arrived here. Her response was no, because Ada is similar to the town her high school, Clinton Massie, is in. Duffy did affirm, however, that she has already grown bored since there is “nothing really to do” around here.

Her final thoughts, though, were positive. “It’s a really good school,” Duffy said, “I heard it was hard to find a job your first year, but I’ve only been here for two weeks of classes and already have a job. It’s a desk job in the psych building.”

Thanks for chatting with me, Tessa!