CHS Students Say First Day of Classes a Success

By Ryan Clark

CHS Communications Director

Jamie Suhr came all the way from the West Coast to spend his first day in Physical Therapy school in the College of Health Sciences Monday.

Suhr, a 29-year-old native of Boise, Idaho, attended his first class — physiology — and he came away impressed.

“The professor was upfront and honest,” he said, as Suhr typed away on his laptop in the Wethington Building’s Student Lounge. “It’s all about ‘Learning by Doing’ here. It’s why I came here in the first place. You get to take all that class knowledge and apply it when we do our clinical rotations.”

Of course, Suhr has a ways to go. He’s in the Class of 2025.

But his sentiments seemed to echo others in the College on the first day of school. Students were ready to get into their classrooms and get to learning. For the first time ever, CHS has more than 1,500 students, its largest class ever, and more than 340 first-time students on campus.

Grace Evans, 21, of Barbourville, Ky., is a senior who was starting her last first day. Well, that is, unless she gets in to UK’s Dental School. She should start hearing about interviews any day now — and that will be some more pressure.

But until then, Evans, who is a Human Health Sciences major, said she finally has a few days to relax. In the summer, she was studying for her Dental exams, and before that, she was taking a load of challenging courses. Now she’s taking some classes that she really can enjoy.

“I’ve really liked all my classes, and this is an especially good time for me now,” she said. “It’s been great to get back into classes to see everyone again.”

Quintin Captain, an 18-year-old freshman from Hillsboro, Ohio, walked out of the Wethington Building after attending his first CHS Class, an introduction to Physician Assistant Studies.

“I just always wanted to help people,” he said. “PA seems like a good option, and that class will help me learn what you can do in that career — how it will be and the background of it.”

The first day of school featured sunny skies and a cool breeze, perfect for walking around campus.

Christian Hopkins was doing just that. A senior Human Health Sciences major in the pre-Dentistry track, he’d just grabbed some Chick-fil-A and was hustling inside the Wethington Building. He did not want to be late for class on the first day of school.

“It’s been a really good day,” said the 21-year-old from Elizabethtown, Ky. “Good classes. Good people. Of course, that’s also what I expected.”