While San Diego State’s entire student body is demographically diverse, its out-of-state student population is tiny and mighty.
According to SDSU Analytic Studies & Institutional Research, 12.4% of incoming fall 2021 Aztecs identified as out-of-state students and like the in-state students who live up or down the California coast, they deserve to find their safe space not just in California, but at SDSU.
Founded in 2022 by its president, Massachusetts native, psychology and communication junior Jenna Green, the Out-of-State Student Association (OOSSA) discovers the beauty in the SDSU out-of-state student experience.
“OOSSA will be a space for students to come that don’t really have a community here in California,” Texas native and OOSSA vice president of finance Nick Ables said. “I struggled a lot when I came here trying to find that community because I didn’t know anyone from my high school or from Houston. It would be nice to have that sense of community on campus, and for OOSSA to be a second home for out-of-state students.”
Being the only space on campus dedicated to out-of-state students, OOSSA aims to ensure they feel a sense of belonging at SDSU, as well as provide the support they need when facing obstacles that can interfere with academic success, such as homesickness or loneliness.
“It’s hard being an out-of-state student and people don’t understand how hard it is until they get here,” Colorado native, psychology junior and OOSSA vice president Mollie Schnee said. “While I feel like SDSU provides equal opportunities for out-of-state students, I don’t think the university understands how hard it is to be an out-of-state student so there aren’t as many resources specifically for us.”
OOSSA will focus on mentorship, where out-of-state students will be paired with lowerclassmen to meet them at their level and to offer guidance, demonstrating it is possible to excel at a major university far from home.
“Coming from out of state and asking for what you need can be a challenge,” Schnee said. “There are people here in OOSSA to help you.”
Senior admissions counselor and staff advisor for OOSSA Heidi Nguyen has been working with SDSU’s out-of-state admissions office for nearly seven years. Nguyen, who graduated from SDSU in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in social work, has seen how out-of-state students come in and struggle to find a community that keeps them connected to campus.
“My students mean a lot to me,” Nguyen said. “I have seen a need for relationship building and rapport building amongst themselves. Out-of-state students come in with this misconception that they’re the only one that doesn’t know anyone, but the reality is that everyone comes to college like that.”
At the start of each fall semester, the office of New Student and Parent Programs hosts an out-of-state student mixer for incoming freshmen and transfer students to come together and make friends. However, Nguyen claims that historically, it ends there, leaving out-of-state students on their own to make connections to people and to campus.
“There aren’t any follow-ups or programming specific to the out-of-state student population, so the need for OOSSA has been here,” Nguyen said. “A lot of resources are available to students within housing, student services, advising and their major as they are coming in but not once they’re here and nothing additional for out-of-state students. To be able to give them their space, to give them fellowship, mentorship and guidance is invaluable, and I wanted to be a part of it.”
OOSSA’s executive board is still in the development stages of planning set meeting times but has an agenda to center the needs of students more than anything else.
“We’re new, we’re still growing and it’s a good thing,” Schnee said. “Students can give their input on what out-of-state students are looking for, what they need from it, what they want from it.”
OOSSA’s ultimate goal is to boost out-of-state students’ confidence and morale in their decision to enroll at SDSU, as well as to validate the inevitable rollercoaster of emotions they will experience throughout their time at SDSU.
“College is not all palm trees and pretty beaches. On the internet, you see beautiful pictures and you see students having a great time and you think, ‘that’s exactly what it is,’ and it’s a part of it, but it’s not all of it,” Nguyen said. “It’s hard, there are challenges and you need people you can go to, so we want out-of-state students to stick it out with OOSSA as a resource.”
OOSSA plans to launch its organization officially at the start of the fall 2022 semester. For more information or to get involved, follow OOSSA on Instagram at @oossasdsu.
