It’s the end for me here, but much more awaits
What happened?
It seems like just yesterday, I was a senior in high school anxiously waiting to start my freshman year of college.
By the time you pick up this paper to read it, I will have only a week left at Waynesburg.
Waynesburg University has been my home for the past 3.5 years and I’m so grateful for every opportunity I’ve been given. From working for ESPN to meeting Justice Clarence Thomas (who by the way is the coolest Supreme Court justice) my college experience has been nothing short of amazing.
When I was looking for colleges, I was very interested in attending Messiah College out by Harrisburg. The campus was beautiful, flat and they were building new buildings left and right. But when I visited something didn’t seem right. The people were rude and they just didn’t seem to care. I chose Waynesburg because my gut feeling told me that there was something special here.
The people were absolutely fabulous; from the coaches to the security guards, everyone walks around Waynesburg with a smile on their face. The very essence of Christ, compassion and love make up the fabric of Waynesburg University.
This last column isn’t about me – it can’t be. If this column is solely about me, then I didn’t learn anything during my time at Waynesburg.
This is about the people who have made me into the person that I am today.
My heart will miss the people at Waynesburg University for years to come.
I don’t think there’s enough room in the entire paper to write about the people who have poured into my life at Waynesburg.
Last week during my graduation interview I was asked to name all of the faculty and staff that I have enjoyed during my time at Waynesburg. I rattled off a list of what seemed to be dozens of people. It’s been Kelley Hardie, Brandon Szuminsky, Pat Bristor, Dr. Chad Sherman, Dr. Larry Stratton, President Lee and many more.
Thank you for your service to Waynesburg University. After I leave, I know that you will continue to pour into the lives of students like myself. You’ve shaped me into the person that I am today – and for that I’m forever grateful.
Perhaps the people who have helped me the most have been the roommates that I’ve had throughout my years at Waynesburg. You see, I’m an only child, and having a roommate is the closest thing I’ve ever had to a sibling.
I wouldn’t trade any of my roommate experiences for anything in the world. Through thick and thin, much like family, the bond between roommates is unbreakable.
To Shakila Kienholz, Makayla Vidosh, my housemates at 162 Franklin Street and Nicole Zimmel: I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Thank you for teaching me how to be selfless, for putting up with my messiness and most importantly, thank you for loving me even when I most definitely didn’t deserve it.
It was by God’s grace and divine providence that I ended up at a school as great as Waynesburg.
As my time at Waynesburg comes to a close, I will try my best to not cry because it’s over, but smile because it happened.
Adventure is out there. It’s time for me to go find a new one.