Students who make the decision to dorm come to school with excitement and butterflies, knowing they are about to begin a new chapter in their lives. However, they quickly realize how much they’ll miss their family, friends, and life that they leave behind.

Taking a step as big as going away to college requires a lot of adjustments. Not only will the family and friends of these students no longer be there, but also the overall structure of their lives will completely change.

Freshman Louis Perez is one of many students that have struggled to adapt to their unfamiliar surroundings.

“I was the only one basically from my school coming here to Iona so it was really difficult making new friends,” said Perez.

Some students have the advantage of being able to go home every once in a while, giving them the rejuvenation they need in order to succeed. Many students, like freshman Olivia Walsh, use visits home as a time to relax and recharge away from the often-stressful college environment filled with both academic and social pressures.

“So far I feel pretty comfortable here, but I have to go home every three weeks otherwise I start to lose it,” said Walsh. “It’s different living with three other people that I don’t really know. I feel like sometimes I have to go home and be surrounded by familiar faces.”

However, some students cannot afford the luxury of visits home.

Students come from all around the world to Iona, and they don’t have the opportunity to go home whenever they want. This is especially hard because the new connections that these students need to make at school sometimes cannot mirror the longstanding connections they’ve had at home.

“I miss eating at home and my brothers and stuff. I can’t really go home because I am from Texas,” said Chris Ellis, a freshman. “I have had to make a lot of friends and hang out with them since I can’t hang out with my family.”

The Iona College Counseling Center is faced with many students suffering from homesickness each year. Senior Staff Counselor and Coordinator of Outreach Services Dr. Daniel Ruckdeschel is one of the many staff members on hand to assist students in their transition.

“If you’ve grown up with the same people your [whole] life and you’ve had these friends for years and years and years, the friendships you make in one semester, or one year are different,” said Ruckdeschel. “Sometimes I’ll hear, ‘I like these people but it’s not like my friends at home.’ One thing I try to clarify for people is it really can’t be.”

It’s incredibly common for students who have moved away to feel homesick time and again, no matter what their class year is. However, it’s important to know when to seek help. Ruckdeschel notes that there is a difference between bouts of homesickness and the more serious problems that can result from it.

“On one hand there’s homesickness, which I think is what most people go through, it’s just missing home,” said Ruckdeschel.

“Then there’s another set of things when people show up at school, they start dealing with a lot of stress that they’ve never dealt with before… So, when people lose what’s familiar, what’s safe, and what’s sort of secure, then whatever problems they have that were manageable at home, suddenly become not as manageable at school,” he said.

At a small school like Iona, homesickness can often feel more manageable because of the small campus with a tight-knit community. However, know that you’re never alone in your feelings of homesickness.

Struggling with homesickness? To contact the Counseling Center, call (914) 633-2038.