Living in Florida, I always thought I would attend one of our larger state schools like University of Florida, Florida State University, University of Central Florida, or University of Miami. Even Florida Atlantic University stuck out to me because of it being right on the beach. Everlasting tan? I think yes. I just wanted to go to a school that was fun and had Greek life, and where I could make a great group of friends to make great memories with. I had never considered a smaller school that wasn't pretty well known amongst us Floridians, yet alone a small private university.
As senior year of high school approached, the pressure to apply to schools (and get accepted) was on and in full force. I toured several of the bigger schools and something just did not feel right. As I toured the campuses and saw their classrooms, and heard that the average class size for prereqs ranged from 300-650 students, it worried me that I might not succeed scholastically at these big schools I had always had my mind set on. Sure they would be fun, but would I ever graduate and get a good job?
After being accepted into several of the bigger Florida public state universities, this small Catholic private university, Saint Leo, came to my high school and did interviews for instant admission into their school. My English teacher pushed me to give it a go, so I agreed and went to meet with the admissions counselor in the office at my high school. The counselor, Mike, talked to me and told me all of his experiences at Saint Leo and why he loved it there. He asked me a few questions about my achievements in high school, ACT scores, and extracurriculars, as well as personal questions to get to know me better and see if I would fit in at Saint Leo. After deliberation (for a few minutes), he told me I had been accepted. I was excited to have another acceptance down pat, but also didn't care much because I had never heard of Saint Leo, nor did I know where Saint Leo, Florida was.
I went home, told my family of another acceptance I had received, and then scheduled a tour to see where this University was and whether I would even consider it.
A few days later, I was riding down a two line road in the middle of nowhere, with cows surrounding me. I saw practically no sign of civilization on the way there, and thought the GPS must have messed up and taken us the wrong way or something. We decided to have faith in the GPS and continue on its path, when we saw a Dollar General and a Family Dollar store on that never ending road. A few minutes later and we were there. After driving through the middle of nowhere, I saw this beautiful school with beautiful buildings and gorgeous architecture and was amazed. But I also thought, why is this school here? We were literally in B.F.E.
My dad and I drove around the small campus ourselves, and then met up with a student ambassador to give us a tour of the university. It was so small. Literally. So small. The student ambassador drove us around on a golf cart and told us all of her experiences at Saint Leo, and how she never imagined going to such a small school, but she absolutely fell in love with it. She also said she was loving the person she was becoming.
I saw the freshmen dorms and was not impressed, but saw the rest of the University and most definitely was. Saint Leo felt like home. It was small and quaint and not overwhelming, and didn't have classrooms that would hold 300+ students. The average class size was 25 students, which sounded a whole lot better to me than 500 students. I could tell that Saint Leo was where I belonged, so I accepted my admittance and confirmed that I was going to be a Saint Leo lion!
Now, I am going into my junior year at Saint Leo and could not be happier. I am so proud of the person that I have become at this small school, and think I made the best decision for myself. Sure, I attend school in the middle of nowhere where the closest fast food restaurant is fifteen minutes away, but I also attend a school where your friends become family and hole-in-the-wall bars with your sorority sisters are more fun than a night out in Tampa with 200 students from school that you've never seen before.
Attending Saint Leo, this small little school in the middle of nowhere, has given me opportunities that I am so grateful for. I am thoroughly involved at school with Greek life, Panhellenic Council, being a Resident Assistant, involved with clubs on campus, and spending time with quality friends who want what's best for me.
What they say on the advertisements for Saint Leo University is true... "You'll love the person you become here".
