The fall weather in Goshen has taken newcomers on a full spin with snowfall in early November, sunshine and low 60s by the end of the month and a return to the snowy weather. For many students who did not grow up with this type of weather, it has been shocking and exciting.

Ines Villaseñor Rodríguez, a first-year molecular biology and biochemistry major from Spain, said the constant changes have been one of the biggest differences she has noticed since arriving on campus. “I prefer my weather in Spain, but the current temperature, 40 degrees, is good,” she said. “I liked it when there was snow.”

Villaseñor Rodríguez had been looking forward to the first snowfall. Though she’d seen snow on the mountains before when she and her family went to Sierra Nevada, she had never seen the snow fall at home. To her, waking up to see the campus covered in it felt like a new milestone.

She explained that winters in Spain hardly reached temperatures common to northern Indiana. “At home we do not have cooler temperatures,” she said. “Temperature with negative 1 Celsius [30 degrees Fahrenheit] is my winter.”

       Though the snow came earlier this fall on Nov. 9 and more snow on Nov. 29-30 she felt she was ready for it. She said international students sometimes arrive without the proper gloves and coats, but this wasn’t the case for her. Despite her preparation, Indiana weather is more unpredictable than she realized. Still, she is trying to embrace her experience. 

For Anna Yoder, a first-year sign language interpreting and elementary special education double major from Harrisonburg, Virginia, the snowfall was just as memorable. 

While where she lives in Virginia gets occasional winter storms, they are less frequent and happen later in the season. “Most years we only really get snow in January, and hardly ever more than three inches or so at a time.”

Unlike Villaseñor Rodríguez, Yoder said she knew what to expect from Indiana’s weather. Her dad and both her siblings attended Goshen College and her grandparents lived in Goshen, which gave her a heads-up about the Midwest and its fluctuating weather. “I knew I needed to be prepared,” she said.

Although the weather here is constantly changing, both students said that this did not affect their decision in choosing to attend GC. Yoder said, “It was cool that I’d get to live with a different climate for a while.” For other international students who haven’t experienced snow, Villaseñor Rodríguez’s advice is simple: “Enjoy the experience and don’t worry about it.” Yoder encourages people who aren’t from here to have hats, gloves, coats and proper shoes prepared — even when they think it won’t snow. Yoder said, “I was glad to have everything early instead of panicking when I realized I didn’t have something.”

Despite the challenges this weather brings, such as getting to campus and navigating, snow can be a new experience. 

Yoder said she looks forward to going on walks on snowy days and getting a warm drink and reading a book.

Throughout all the uncertainty about the weather and the hazards it brings, Campus Safety provides students with a heads-up about the conditions on and around campus to help keep students safe.