Westminster,

I very recently became an alumni, and there are just so many things I needed to tell you as I leave campus for the last time as an Undergraduate. If we're being honest, the moment that I stepped foot on this campus for the first time four years ago, I wanted to hate you. My first-year experience was very much comparable to the angsty teenage years. You know, the "I hate my mom, don't tell me what to do, let me be myself, I'm grown!" years. Yeah... Those. Fortunately, four years later, I've grown out of that phase and now I couldn't be more in love with Mother Fair. This will be the hardest goodbye. As you'd expect, I learned a lot of lessons here. But the most wonderful lessons I learned at this institution weren't in lectures or labs or seminars, the best lessons I learned came directly from the culture of campus itself. Here are just a few of the lessons I am thankful for as I enter the next chapter of my life.

Thank you for teaching me the Westminster Way.

An open door, a helping hand, a shoulder to lean on. This signature phrase on our campus is something we joke about in our years here, but in retrospect, it's quite beautiful. The Westminster Way taught me to be a better person. It reminded me that everyone is worth a smile and an open door ... It reminded me that your goal should be to be as helpful as possible to the person next to you, even if you've never met them. We're all in this together.

Thank you for teaching me to be bigger than my obstacles.

You never taught me the path of least resistance. You forced me to find it the hard way ... and I dreaded it at the time. But, hindsight is 20/20, and by forcing me to solve my problems, you helped me realize that you don't overcome obstacles by avoiding them, you overcome them by taking charge and creating a solution.

Thank you for teaching me to be humble.

I'd be here all day if you asked me to name all of the times that I took this curriculum for granted. I never thought that we were different than any other college. Now, I know that my education is a notable one, but Westminster never encouraged me to think or act that way. You taught me to accept my victories gracefully, and use my losses as lessons.

Thank you for teaching me the value of work ethic.

I will admit that I was not your best student. But I will also admit that you still appreciated my work, and taught me that if I want to achieve something, I need to work for it. Thank you for giving me so many research opportunities, and so many chances to present that research at conferences.

Thank you for being more than I imagined.

(see what I did there?) But, the reality of it is that when I arrived for my first year, I assumed that I was going to be alone, and bored, and my college experience was doomed to be quite dull. Leaving this college as a graduate, I can thankfully say that none of those were true. Westminster, you're full of life, sparkle, opportunity and humility. You dare your students to achieve, and you help us realize our wildest dreams.

The last four years have been weird, they've been fun, they've been unique. I've gotten to join the Greek community, teach a rat to play basketball, present research at conferences and my personal favorite, pet a camel. I've gotten to do so many wonderful things, and it is all because I took the chance on the small liberal arts school in an Amish town in Western Pennsylvania.

Thanks for a wild ride, Westminster.