A college environment should be one that allows its students to first discover themselves and then grow. Too many of us arrive at college with more questions than answers. What do I want to do? Who do I want to be? What in the actual heck am I doing? We all dread family events simply because we know questions to which we don't have answers will be thrown our way when we're just trying to enjoy our mashed potatoes. What if I told you that a small school, one where the party life is minimal and the academics are exceptional, could help you with all the stress you have about self-discovery during your college years? I had no idea what to expect when I came to college, mainly because I flat out didn't know anything about myself or what I wanted to do. Well, I still don't, but I'm working on it. However, with a little help from my professors, I was able to get on the right path.

Here is where my small school comes in handy. With my personality, I couldn't imagine myself at a large school. I knew this during my college search, but I didn't quite yet know that choosing a small school would ultimately be the best decision I could have made. From the very start, I made connections with a few of my professors. Their ideas intrigued me and left me thinking of questions in my own time, outside of the classroom (that's right — small schools have classrooms, not lecture halls!).

I started out my first semester of freshman year as a Secondary Education English major, but that quickly changed when an old professor simply told me to take up Professional Writing. Being at a small school allows you to take the time to go see your professor and actually get to know them and let them get to know you. More often than not, they have time every day of the week for you to go to their office, sit down and have a chat. I can go to my professors with questions about a project or I can rant to them about the tragic hardships of early adulthood. If your professors didn't want you to go talk to them about anything and everything, then they wouldn't be at a small school where that is totally possible.

Fast forward to today. After a full academic year of being in Dr. Corinne Wohlford's classes, I feel more confident in where my interests are than ever before. That's not to say that I completely know what I'm doing, but I'm exploring ideas on my own time. Because of my small school, I have had many opportunities to have individual conferences with her throughout the year. It's during this time that she has encouraged me to explore and think about my interests. I didn't think I would ever catch myself reading poems from the feminists of the 60s and 70s on my own time, yet Dr. Wohlford sparked this interest in me.

To my professors who encouraged me, thank you. Without you all, I would still be an aimless and confused college student on my way to completing a degree in something I didn't really care for.