Gainesville State College’s campus is again bustling with students, faculty and staff as Monday marked the first day of fall classes.

But filing in and out of classrooms, administrative offices and the bookstore, they are spending their last first day on an independent campus.

Next spring, the school will merge with North Georgia College & State University to form the University of North Georgia, and students will start that semester with a new name, colors and mascot.

“I think it’s going to be weird, I guess, because I’m so used to saying ‘GSC’ and my email and everything, but overall I think it’ll be a great opportunity,” said Cinthya Bourdua, a student at Gainesville State. “I’m just looking forward to the transition. I was thinking I’d have to transfer, but now it looks like I can stay here, and I live close by so it’s good.”

And for the sophomore business major, who spent the summer taking classes, another semester is just
another step closer to becoming part of something bigger.

“So, for me, it’s like: ‘Oh, I’m back again. Let’s start over,’” said Bourdua. “I mean it’s good; I just want to get this done.”

Between 8,500 and 8,750 students will register for classes this fall at both of the school’s current campuses: Oakwood and Oconee.

But for some, the last semester for Gainesville State comes with mixed emotions.

Jackie Mauldin, the director of auxiliary services for the college, has been working on campus for 23 years. Her mother worked there for 25 years as well.

“It’s real sad to me,” said Mauldin. “(But) it’s real exciting, too, because I know it’s going to be great for the kids. It’s scary for all of us here because we don’t know exactly what’s going to happen, but the kids will benefit big-time from it.”

A part of her duties is running the bookstore on campus — a first-week hotspot for students buying books, supplies and apparel.

“It’s exciting,” said Mauldin. “It’s work because it seems by the time we get through spring and summer we’ve trained a whole new group of kids how to find books and how to do it. Now we get a new group of freshmen.”

And for one of those freshmen, Ashley Bernon, the looming merger is likely just to add to her confusion.

“(The fist day of classes) is kind of nice, but it’s kind of confusing,” she said. “(The consolidation) will change a little bit, so I might be more confused.”

But, Mauldin said, all new students on the first day of school at Gainesville State have something in common.

“That’s one thing that we’ve always had: a really good group of kids,” she said. “They’re patient and polite to us and even from 23 years ago, that’s not changed.”