By Colin Jackson, WLUC TV 6, Marquette, published: Jan. 9, 2023
HOUGHTON, Mich. (WLUC) – Michigan Tech University (MTU) is once again busy and packed with students old and new as its spring semester begins
The J. Robert Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library was especially crowded with students filling its social areas and research rooms on Monday, the first day of MTU’s winter semester.
“It’s really nice to see students back on campus,” said MTU Library Assistant Director for Education and Public Services Jenn Sams. “The number of students in the building and in the library is back to pre-pandemic levels, so we’re really excited to see that. In fact, it may be a little above that at this point. It’s very nice to see.”
To help students know their way around the library and its resources, Sams and other staff organized an orientation tour of the building.
They showed the students where to find study rooms, the campus’s 3D and poster printers and archives among other resources.
This is in order to provide them with what they need on their academic journeys.
“We want to make sure our students become competent and expert users, finders, evaluators, and creators of information,” continued Sams. “So, all these resources really lend themselves to helping students do that.”
A variety of students participated in the orientation, including MTU Freshman Alex Brown-Rohe.
“What I’m pursuing is a bachelor’s degree in mechatronics, which, for those who don’t know, is pretty much all the fields that have to deal with robotics, its research, its development, and stuff like that,” Brown-Rohe said.
Another participant was graduate student Rezdul Karim, who traveled from Bangladesh to attend MTU.
“I’m here for my Ph.D. in mechanical engineering,” said Karim. “The reason I chose it is because my undergraduate was in mechanical engineering, and Michigan Tech is, for graduate students, the top 30% in the USA.”
The library will be holding another orientation on Tuesday starting at 11 a.m. for students who were unable to make the first.
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