At first glance, Katie Pittman is just another face among
the sea of freshmen that arrived on the Ohio University campus this past
August. She’s a polite smile as well as a hardworking journalism major, just as
quick to offer a friendly greeting as she is a helpful tip for an upcoming exam
– a quintessential new member of the Bobcat community.
However, there’s something a tad unusual about Katie. During
student orientation, she was eager to answer every random trivia question
presented by the tour guide. She showed her new friends around campus during
Welcome Weekend, telling them the names of different buildings and introducing
them to local hotspots. Give her an address somewhere around the University and
she’ll most likely be able to direct you there, even though she appears to have
just moved to Athens a month ago.
What appears to be the case with Ms. Pittman, however, is
actually way off the mark. While she’s lucky enough to call Athens her home for
the next four years, just like the rest of the freshmen, she’s also referred to
it as such for the past eighteen.
Born to two OU professors and raised just minutes from campus, the transition
to college for Katie wasn’t much of a transition at all – just a short move
down the road.
“There’s a lot more freedom, obviously,” said Pittman of her
new life as a college student. “Being in a small town, you know everyone, and
then coming on campus you still know no one even though you’ve been here
forever.” Forever isn’t much of an understatement. Katie’s been paying visits
to campus all her life, from when she was barely old enough to walk to when she
could go uptown to Court Street and visit her dad’s office by herself.
“Snow days, I was always in someone’s office, just because I
was the youngest and I couldn’t stay home by myself,” she said when asked about
growing up around campus. “My dad had a TV under his desk, so I would sit under
his desk and watch TV.” Although Katie knew the communications buildings and
professors fairly well from a young age, there were still parts of Athens and
the culture of OU as a whole she had yet to discover when she moved in.
“I know some professors and stuff, but students, it was all
a new experience,” said Katie. “There are parts of Athens – like, I was never
on Mill, or Palmer, or High Street when I was little. So, there are still some
parts where it’s like ‘Oh! Okay, well this is new.’” Despite the various new experiences
currently surrounding her, there’s still plenty of familiarity in Katie’s life
for her to turn to if and when things get rough. Perhaps the biggest of these
things is her mother, Kathy, who was just rehired at the University as a
learning specialist at the School of Medicine.
“(As a kid) I would sit in the corner of her office in the
Sing Tao Center,” Pittman said of her relationship with her mom. “Now, my mom
and I get lunch every Monday and Wednesday. I can’t use all my swipes, so we go
to Boyd.”
Despite the obvious benefits of being close to home,
however, the decision to come to OU was at first a strange one for Katie. She
never saw herself here growing up, but eventually had to admit that it was the
right choice. College applications are usually tough on most kids, but “…it
ended up being pretty easy…I was looking at some other schools in Ohio, but
honestly, finance is probably the biggest decision maker. I do get reduced
tuition here because my parents are faculty, which is a huge thing.” Easing the
financial burden of higher education may have been the largest factor, but
Pittman couldn’t ignore the superb academics that OU has to offer, as well.
“For the journalism program, I can’t imagine going anywhere else. There are
connections here, and it’s such a good program…just for what I want to study,
it’s obviously one of the best places to be.”
Despite the fact that she could “never imagine” herself
“coming back here”, Katie still had to admit that she has a lot of love for her
hometown. According to her, what really makes Athens great above all else is
“…the people here. Even though it’s a small-town feel, everyone’s so kind.”
This welcoming attitude, of course, is something every new Bobcat recognizes –
however, the notion that even someone who has lived in Athens their entire life
could still be very aware of it goes to show just how special the city is. Although
Katie may have an easier transition to life at Ohio University than most, her
connection to Athens may not be so uncommon among her peers as the rest of the
underclassmen slowly realize the true magnificence of their new ‘hOUme’.
What Makes Ohio University a HOUme?
https://youtu.be/BllhCaY85tw(Eli Shively & Mallory Golski)
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