While going through high school, I had the dream of attending USC or Liberty. Once my brother went to ODU, all of that suddenly changed.

Old Dominion is not my home away from home. It is my home. In ten years, it will be the place that comes up in most of my stories while telling my children about it. I fell in love with ODU slowly and then all at once. I am grateful for that as well.

Who does not love Thursday night outs, Friday night study sessions, Saturday tailgates and football games, all in the same place?

There are many things that I love about ODU, but a few are the sunsets that occur at Whitehurst beach, the diversity of students on and off campus, the sports teams, and all of the different clubs and activities. There are plenty of things that students can do at Old Dominion to keep them busy during the week and on the weekend. Students can rent kayaks and paddle boards during the spring time to enjoy time out on the water, take classes in the Student Recreational Center like yoga, pilates, and also rock climb with students of the Outdoor Adventure Program.

Old Dominion has many wonderful academic programs that has put many students ahead of their future. Many students have been successful in the way of becoming an entrepreneur which has helped shape them tremendously in meeting new people. Meeting new people of other businesses will help those students reach out their abilities of social interactions with other entrepreneurs.

Our sports teams are also out of this world as many sports like baseball, basketball, and football have been extremely successful. Not only does our student section fill with joy and cheer, it is normally sold out in the first couple of hours that tickets are released. Other sections are available for alumni and future Monarchs to attend which helps ODU become a better team with the support of the fans.

I have met my true best friends at ODU that I never would have thought of having. Even though we have all different personalities, we all relate the same. I eat, study, go to sports games, and spend majority of my time with them. Sleepovers, cookout runs at three in the morning, and many other memories will be the ones that I cherish the most when looking back and realizing that ODU should have been my top choice to begin with.

I cannot wait until the days of telling my kids on how much Old Dominion became my home for four years. With all of the memories that have taken place and all of the ones that I look forward to in the future, I am thankful for everything that has happened at ODU.