LOL so here’s the thing. I started out my college career as a little bitty freshie at Cazenovia. I didn’t leave home like some of my friends, as a matter of fact, I went to a college I didn’t even know was in the next town over until I applied. By the way, I only applied because the application was free. But that’s beside the point. Visiting Caz, I didn’t really know if it was for me. They gave me a scholarship so I decided I had to go, because it was too much money to just pass up.

Going through orientation and being the first people on campus for the semester, forced me to make friends, some of which I’m still friends with today. But very quickly Caz became my home. I lived on campus even though I only lived ten minutes away from campus, and I couldn’t be more grateful for having done that, because I had some of the best times of my life.

Cazenovia has the tendency to grow on people. It’s like eh, it's OK here sometimes and sometimes the food is OK, and once in awhile they play some really good movies in the lecture hall. And once in awhile, if you’re lucky, you can find a good party (usually in the suites, just kidding) but it doesn’t take long for it to get busted. And sometimes when you’re working on a really big project on a Sunday and the library closes just as you’re finishing the last two sentences of the paper, you get a little mad. And let’s face it, that walk to get your car at the gym from anywhere besides Watts and Park is kinda a long walk. But those comfy chairs in the mail room and Witherall are pretty nice sometimes when you’re in need of a nap and can’t go back to your bed because you know for sure you won’t wake up. Oh, let’s not forget the Caz curse. That thing follows you everywhere for the rest of your life. EVEN WHEN YOU’RE NOT ON CAMPUS. Once you attend Caz, you can’t get rid of it. Oh and Cooper. Let’s not forget Cooper sleeping in the only open chair left in the library so you have to sit somewhere else. Or the countless close calls with cars he’s had and is still alive, thank goodness because he’s just the best kitty. Let’s also not forget the time Cooper got into Park and slept on my bed 'till I was out of class. Don’t worry, my roommate took him outside after he fell asleep. And we obviously can’t forget about the basketball, soccer and lacrosse games, late night Dunkin runs, Caz pizza dinner dates, and Thai food. And we’ve all walked up the hill to Tops at one point in time.

But the point is, Caz becomes a home. We all complain about being there when we are there, and yet we cannot wait to come back for the next semester. We always end up saying how much we miss Caz, whether it be because of the friends we’ve made, or the atmosphere we have learned to love.

And these are just some of the reasons why I chose Caz twice. The beginning of Sophomore year I thought somewhere else could offer me something better, something more. I needed a new experience, needed to get away and actually go somewhere away for college. I needed change. And although the summer before I went to Oswego I found the love of my life, that’s not the only thing that made me come back.

Caz had always felt like home, felt comfortable. I could walk by any professor and be greeted with a smile and some simple conversation. I could stand out academically because of the small school. My professors knew me by face and name, and they knew me as a student. They knew my good and bad work. They knew when things were wrong and they needed to step in. These professors care about their students, plain and simple. These professors made a difference in their students’ lives. Caz is a tiny little home. A community of academic excellence and a place you just want to be. Caz gives its’ students room to grow as people. It helps them succeed to be smarter people, people who are going to get that first job they apply for. People that are going to be something and doing something that will make a difference in life.

Now that’s not to say that everything is perfect at Caz, there’s a lot of room for improvement, just like there is anywhere. But I couldn’t imagine going anywhere else, and graduation from anywhere else with a degree. Caz will always be my home, and soon enough, I will be its’ alum. I feel like when a student graduates, they should take pride in the school they graduated from, and I know that I will take pride in being a Cazenovia Graduate.