ISABELLA FERRARI | STAFF REPORTER

He sits in the library with his parents watching as rubber ducks fall from the third floor balcony.

“The duck drop is a really good use of the library,” Sam Knepprath said.

His face lights up thinking about starting his freshman year.

A recording industry studies major, he looks forward to a program that does not require prior experience.

“Recording industry studies is usually under a music major, in the school of music,” he said. “But Butler understands not all music business people are musicians themselves.”

Knepprath remembers how much he worked to get here.

He took many Advanced Placement classes, including AP art, where he made 10 projects within the first week of classes.

“It was a different kind of challenge,” he said.

But Knepprath faces even bigger challenges here, including going to a school that is five hours away from home.

“I am the only one who’s coming here from Pewaukee, Wisconsin, and a lot of my friends are going to Madison [for school],” he said.

He is also nervous about making a good first impression, not getting along with his roommate and choosing the right major.

Knepprath’s parents, Paula and John, are just as nervous as he is about starting college.

Nevertheless, they encourage him.

“I think he’s going to do great; I think that we’re in a little smaller community so being in a bigger community will be good,” Knepprath’s parents said.