Happy Monday!
For those of you that don't know, I'm both a blogger and a tour guide at Saint Mike's. I became a tour guide last spring and I love being able to share my experiences & love of SMC with prospective students & families. Last week, at the end of a tour, one mother asked me the best question : "Why is Saint Michael's the happiest place on earth?"
For me, the answer is simple. Saint Michael's is a place where I can grow in mind, body, & spirit. It's a place that is both incredibly supportive and amazingly beautiful. I am afforded so many opportunities here and I've made so many great friends; I feel like SMC is the place I'm supposed to be!
At Saint Mike's, the community is huge. Whenever I walk into the dining hall I say hello to Rosemary as she swipes my card and chat with Steve as he prepares the pizza. I walk to class and see Anna in the campus ministry office, say hi to Father Brian as I leave Alliot, and I talk with Jerome about choir practice as I pass the chapel. Sometimes I'll stop into Founder's to say hi to my work study bosses from last year, or I'll duck into the President's office to ask my friend Tara, the President's assistant, about her recommendations for next semester's classes. I'm also friendly with my professors who I constantly see around campus and, of course, I have an amazing group of friends, several of whom I live with this year.
My classes are difficult, but they're also surprisingly interesting and engaging. I never thought I'd enjoy learning about accounting, but Professor Doyon connects everything to real life problems and makes it easy to understand. I've taken dance classes, psych classes, learned to love challenging myself in my two Spanish classes. I also fell in love with business in my intro class where we actually created a real business on campus. My group sold winter hats and, while our business failed, I learned so much about business already. My philosophy class is amazing - never did I ever think I'd enjoy discussing Plato. The readings are wordy and difficult to understand, but Professor L'Hote is so passionate and excited that classes are fun. We discuss the meaning of life and the definition of love, which is both funny and interesting.
My professors are excited to teach; they want us to learn and to do well. Even if their classes are difficult, they have office hours throughout the week and are readily available to go over course material. I've met with my professors to review a quiz, give me tips on improving a paper, or even just to chat or say hi. My professors know me; they know my name, they know that I'm a business major. Often when I meet with a professor about a class, they chat with me for a while after about my extracurriculars at SMC, where I'm from, or my plans to intern over the summer. All the professors at Saint Mike's love to learn and teach; they're engaged and truly care about helping their students.
Because Saint Mike's is such a small school, there are so many opportunities for students. As I said earlier, I work for the school as a blogger and tour guide. I basically get paid to brag about SMC! I've started working with the career center to secure an internship for next summer; right now I'm working on beautifying my resume and soon I'll be getting a list of alumni who work in Boston with whom I can make connections. This year, as a sophomore, I'm a TA for a first-year seminar. At most large universities a TA position is held by upperclassmen, or even graduate students, but since SMC is much smaller, sophomores and juniors are usually TAs. I'm also a team leader for one of our campus ministry programs, and I started a SMC chapter of a national online magazine with my friend Lauren, which, while it's not connected to Saint Mike's, is written by students and is so much fun.
Last but not least, campus is beautiful. I love walking into Alliot and seeing the mountains in the distance or noticing the sun set over the library at the end of the day. I honestly can't believe that I go to such a beautiful school! At Saint Mike's, I feel like I'm finding out who I am and I'm learning so much. I love being challenged in class, I've deepened my faith as I've gotten involved in campus ministry activities, and I've made some awesome friends. I sometimes think about what it'd be like to go to a larger college or university, but I don't think I would enjoy it. Saint Mike's has allowed me to be me and to really find myself. There's no where else I'd rather be!
No comments:
Post a Comment