Heck yeah! I hear a lot of people go to Mint as their first Linux distribution. I don’t know what the experience is like now, but it’s probably good for newcomers. I think EndeavourOS is another good one. Right now I’m fully invested in NixOS, but it’s not beginner-friendly at all. I think it’s the best OS out there right now, though, so feel free to check it out!
Yeah some people for sure will come to Linux, and that’s good. Maybe that PewDiePie video (as much as I don’t like it) will have some impact too.
The biggest hump is probably video games, even I do most of my gaming on Windows. I guess Valve is making really good progress there, but I don’t think we’ll see mainstream Linux native game development any time soon.
Also, sounds like there are some cool people at your university!