As this will be my last article, I want to talk briefly about all the opportunities that await me as well as reminisce on the memories at Saint Ambrose University. Once May 18th hits, I will be graduating magna cum laude with my Bachelors in Early Childhood Education with an endorsement in Special Education. As a first generation, a good amount of my family can see me walk across the stage in a cap and gown, which has been my mom’s goal ever since I was born. So without further ado, here are some fond memories I have from Saint Ambrose.
- The Sexual Assault Advocacy Team: During my junior year of college, I became a survivor of sexual violence which became a realization after splitting with my ex-boyfriend. After an advocate who was also a friend of mine heard, she introduced me to this organization on campus. From there, the rest was history. We had done fun activities such as Take Back the Night and Club Fest. My main favorite event I did was the Denim Day table. Here, we educated about the purpose of Denim Day on our campus and how we as a society must stick together when it comes to sexual violence. I felt welcomed in this group and I was able to make many connections. I hope to one day be able to be a trained advocate once I finish my healing.
- HerCampus: I became a member after talking to some individuals during clubfest. As a former managing editor of my high school newspaper, I was ecstatic to join. Throughout the years, I have been in and out of the club due to personal conflicts, but I was still able to make memories. I did events such as Clubfest, game nights, Powerpoint Night, and many more. At the end of my time at St. Ambrose, I had to leave due to work commitments which I do regret from time to time. Nonetheless, I have those memories to look back on.
- BeeReaders: I only was in this club for a few months due to student teaching in the spring. This club had me travel to a local elementary school to read to the students. As an aspiring teacher, I jumped at the opportunity and spent a few mornings reading to students. I read fun books like Elf, and I shared many laughs with the students. If I had more time, I would have been a regular member and still volunteer my time to the school.
- Symphonic Band: As someone who has been in band since 5th grade, I chose to spend Tuesday and Thursday nights at rehearsal. My band director was a boisterous and kind man who was passionate about what he was teaching. I have made many friends in this band whom I am still in contact with to this day. The playful banter and the fun music pieces were my favorite part of band. I hope to continue playing music even after I graduate college.
- Work Study: On top of being in the band, I was a music department work study all 4 years. I created connections with all the music professors and did many tasks to procrastinate all of my homework (unfortunately, I still had a good amount of homework to do regardless). Since I am student teaching now, I have grown to miss the music department and wish I could spend more time with them and the student workers.
- Education Preparation Program: Since I am a member of the Education Preparation Program, I spent another chunk of time with the education professors. I had one in particular who was always there for me. I cannot count how many times I have gone into her office crying about the littlest things. She is a sweet soul and checked on me whenever she had the chance. One of my favorite things we did in class was do yoga (my professor was a licensed yoga instructor and she also knew how stressed we were) outside on campus. Even though we may have had a few laughs directed at us and some weird glances, we had tons of fun.
- Clarinet Lessons: I started by pursuing a minor in Music. After I realized I was not good at music theory and Aural Skills (I have hearing damage which made it difficult to hear), I dropped my minor. Although I did, I continued to take lessons with my teacher. He was one of my main supporters during my mental breakdowns and musical talent. We played many duets and trios together. I remember after my breakup, we scheduled a lesson for Saturday in which we spent the day together playing difficult duets to get my mind off of it. When we had that lesson, he told me “The best thing you can do to get revenge is to be the best version of yourself”. To this day, I have used those wise words in my daily endeavors.
- City Of Davenport Americorps Program: Even though this is not a part of Saint Ambrose, it was a program that was consistent in my college career. I have learned many lessons and skills to pursue a career in the education field. From the times of befriending a llama and sharing pickles with a camper in a house full of spiders (the child had Type 1 diabetes and the house was old), I want to thank them for giving me many opportunities. As of May 6th, I am an official city worker as a camp coordinator. I cannot wait to see what I have in store for the summer.
I want to thank my family for being supportive and believing in me when I did not believe in myself. I also want to thank everyone who I met along the way (good and bad). You were the driving force in my college career and you taught me lessons I carry with me.
If I could give any advice to incoming college students, I would say meet as many people as possible. You also will meet people who may become important in your journey. Even if you do not continue to be friends with them or significant others, they are people who you will never forget. Don’t shut them out, keep them close to your heart for as long as you can. You never know if they will reappear again. As always, I wish everyone the best of luck in their future endeavors.