[August 12, 2011] Bacone helps students adjust Tweet Aug 11, 2011 (Muskogee Phoenix - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- In the first minutes of her first Speaking and Thinking Critically class of the year, Bacone College instructor Debbie Mullen sought to ease students' worries about public speaking. "You're going to see that it's very easy, very comfortable," Mullen said. Mullen, who has taught at Bacone for five semesters, said she knows how apprehensive college students can be on their first day of class. This could especially be true for students from other parts of the United States or other countries, she said. Another state could be a whole different culture, she said. "We get students from all over the country, it never ceases to amaze me," said Eugene Blankenship, Bacone assistant vice president for institutional advancement. He said about 40 percent of Bacone students are from out of state and 1 percent are international students. He said the school has activities to help students settle into campus life. "We had a cookout Wednesday and we're planning different things throughout the year," Blankenship said. "We had an ice cream social today and the president has several cookouts planned." Blankenship said students could enroll through Aug. 26. "The biggest challenge I've seen is that they're scared, away from home. This is a new experience, new people," Mullen said. "I tell them I'm here for them as long as they do their part." Mullen said the biggest question students had so far dealt with sweltering heat over the past few weeks. "They ask 'how do you all breath in this heat," she said. Sophomore Quinesha Adams of St. Paul, Minn., said she was not put off by the heat. She transferred to Bacone from Lane College in Jackson, Tenn. "Tennessee had hot days," Adams said, adding that she sought to "stay inside as much as possible." Adams said she transferred to Bacone to take advantage of a track scholarship and to continue her education. She said she is majoring in journalism as she seeks a career in mass communications. "My teammates are all pretty nice," she said. "I'm excited to be here." Mullen said many students come to Bacone on a sports scholarship. Their athletic background tends to make it easier for them to become acclimated. "They have that team spirit," she said. After several years at Bacone, out-of-state students can become friends and learn interesting things about each other. Junior Brooke Echols and senior Dominique Stephens live 260 miles from each other in Alabama, but met three years ago in a Bacone class. "We came up here and found out we're from Alabama," said Stephens, of Birmingham. "Our accents are a little bit different." "Mine's more country because I'm more from the south," said Echols, a nursing student from Mobile. "We always end up in a class together." "And we hang out together, sometimes," Stephens said. A spell of cool weather before Thursday afternoon storms gave Stephens and Echols a chance to catch up outside the Palmer Center. However, they have a good way to keep up when they're back in Alabama. "I'd scope him out on Facebook and see what he's doing," Echols said. Reach Cathy Spaulding at (918) 684-2928 or [email protected]. To see more of the Muskogee Phoenix or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://muskogeephoenix.com. Copyright (c) 2011, Muskogee Phoenix, Okla. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]