I generally knew what I wanted in a college when I was a sophomore in high school. Having tagged along on many of my sister’s college visits, I got an early understanding of the kind of school I wanted. Small, liberal arts schools in the northeast were what I set my sights on. Having grown up in the Greater Boston Area, I didn’t want to be too far away from home, and I did not want to go to a large school.
Stonehill obviously fits that bill to a "t." But that wasn’t always my first choice.
Having practically grown up running through the halls of Duffy, I felt at home at Stonehill. From an early age, I was on campus during school breaks, visiting my grandfather, who at the time taught French and Spanish at the college. My mom graduated with a biology degree in 1986, 30 years before I will graduate from the same school with a degree in Arts Administration.
When it came time for me to decide where to apply, I wasn’t sure if I even wanted to look at Stonehill. I wanted to broaden my horizons, go somewhere where I could make my own mark, where no one in my family had gone before. My sister had done just that, going to St. Anselm and creating her own world there. I very much wanted that, so for a while I didn’t even consider Stonehill (or UNH, where my dad went) and started looking at similar schools.
When the second semester of my junior year of high school rolled around, something peaked my curiosity about the schools my parents went to, and I ultimately scheduled a tour of Stonehill. Going on the tour, from a student’s perspective, I began to see Stonehill differently. Instead of seeing as the place I went to as a kid for a visit, I looked at the academics and at the students I saw walking around.
I felt a different kind of comfortable.
Later that year, my grandfather retired from teaching. Something in my mind told me it was a sign that Stonehill was a place I wanted to make my own, so I made the decision to apply when the time came my senior year. It ended up being the first place I got accepted to, and I was later rejected from the school I had set my hopes on. I took it as a sign that I was supposed to go to Stonehill and sent in my deposit before hearing back from the rest of the schools I applied to.
Despite having a rough patch involving three months of wanting to change my major or transfer, I couldn’t see myself anywhere else. It’s crazy to think that I only have a year left here. The people I’ve met and the experiences I’ve had have shaped the person I am today.
I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, and all of these signs that led me here only make me believe that more.
