I've always worked very hard in school, even as a kid. I enjoyed learning and I enjoyed the satisfaction of working hard to achieve my goal. That goal was eventually attending college. When I was a senior in high school, I wanted so badly to leave Vermont. I wanted to explore the world and go to Auburn University in Alabama. I worked for years to get there. My top choice and my dream school is what I gave up at 18 years old to go to a small, private military school in the middle of Vermont: Norwich University.

Now a senior at NU, I look back on my college experience as something I will definitely not forget. I love my school and I’m very proud of attending a place so close to home, a place where many men and women will go on to serve our country, which I am so much more than thankful for, and as a place I gained a second family from.

Not only do I attend the nation’s oldest private military college, I attend as a female civilian student. I often get asked questions like “Why do you go here? You’re a girl and you’re a civilian. You don’t play any sports. So why Norwich?” Even one of my own sisters had asked me the questions when I sat my family members down to tell them my decision. She told me that I had so many options to go anywhere that I wanted, but I chose a small school where everybody knows everybody and a place so close to home.

So here’s why:

I chose Norwich because it’s a challenge. That challenge has included many sleepless nights, sometimes in a row, and many classes that have pushed me further than I ever thought my mind could handle. It first sparked my interest when I saw my sister walk across the stage to receive her degree to become an RN. At that moment, NU was planted in the back of my mind. Little did I know it would be where I would attend just six years later.

When I applied, I chose to be a civilian because in the Corps you can’t have a job off campus your freshman year, and I needed one. Your job as a student is rookdom, homework and classes. (Rookdom takes incredible will power. I commend all of you who have done it for going through that.) I work 20-30 hours a week, I take 18-20 credits a semester and I visit my family all the time since I grew up less than 20 minutes from campus. The Corps just wasn’t something I was able to do with my schedule.

Every Sunday, my siblings and I sit down at the dinner table at home to enjoy a huge, Italian family dinner. I’m the youngest of six kids, so when we can get together now and take breaks from our insane lives, it’s a miracle. I can’t miss it for anything. (If anybody has ever had my dad’s stuffed shells or baked ziti you’ll know exactly why I never miss a family dinner. Also, the free laundry is a plus.)

One day during my senior year of high school, I realized I just didn’t understand why I wanted to leave my family so badly to go to Alabama. My older sister had just had her beautiful baby girl, who is now my best friend. These past three years, I have gotten to watch her grow up. I have gotten to watch her learn how to walk, how to talk. I have gotten to see her become a big sister to an adorable little brother. I have gotten to experience my oldest brother having his first son who is just cuter than anything, at only eight weeks old. I was also able to see my other sister say yes to her fiancé, whom I can’t wait to call my brother-in-law very soon. I can't believe I almost gave all these moments up.

Now, I will graduate in May with a degree in Biology in hopes of going to school for Forensic Science. I will also graduate knowing I chose NU because I was able to receive a degree from an amazing college and I was able to stay near my family, who means more than anything to me. My decision to attend Norwich was so much more than the incredible education. Sometimes, going far away from home just isn’t what somebody is supposed to do. I chose Norwich because it was the entire package for me. If I went anywhere else, I don’t think I could handle the heartbreak of being so far from my family. I may have given up Alabama, but I’ve gained so much.

And I wouldn’t change my choice for the world.

Norwich Forever.