The First Visit
I'm not gonna lie. The first time I saw "Wingate University" the GPS took us to the Tyson Chicken plant down the road and all I could do was laugh. When we finally got to the correct destination, it looked like just a university to me. I was here for a softball tournament, so yes my dad and I drove around the university to look at the buildings, but at this point, I was just college scouting. Most college scouts scout you out to play for them, well I was scouting out the colleges. The campus was beautiful, despite the construction going on, and it was small. But I was looking for more than just that. I was looking for a home.
The Official Visit
Time passes on and here I am at Wingate University again, but not for softball. This time for an official visit. I made the most of my time and also visited the Pharmacy School. As a pre-pharmacy major, the school I was going to choose for undergraduate was going to be the school I went to for graduate school also. A friend of my grandfathers pulled some strings, and I met the dean of the Pharmacy School and the president of the university. I took a tour of both the graduate and undergraduate schools, visited the dorms, and needless to say, I chose Wingate University.
The Reason Why
Everyone always asks how I ended up at Wingate. I always laugh and say, "because I am close enough to home if I needed someone they could come, but far enough that my family can't just randomly show up," which is somewhat true. I chose Wingate because I wanted to leave my town, I wanted to move and have a clean slate. No one knew me when I first arrived at Wingate, and I got to build myself into the person I wanted to be. I got to grow without having people criticize me for not being the old me. I didn't want to be the old me. I wanted to be a new me, a better me.
Wingate is small. A small school was how I was going to succeed. I need the small classes and one-on-one time with my professors. I enjoy walking into the Smith Science building and having every professor know my name. It's how you network in life. It's how you get the extra help when tutoring is full and they offer to set up a review session. It's how I am making the grades in college. I couldn't have done it on my own. I needed the one-on-one and the extra help.
Wingate is a family. We are a small school. I may not know every single person, but I know a great majority of them from being in classes with them, through my friends, or through work. We all participate in community service projects together, and we call come together in times of need. I found my family here. I don't think I have ever had such a huge support system. We are #OneDog
A Thank You To Wingate University
Wingate has taught me many lessons. It's showed me compassion, love, support, and hard work. It's helped prepare me for pharmacy school, provided me with tutoring, a job, research, leadership opportunities through the BIOS program, and many professors that will help with in any way they can. It has given me the greatest best friend I could ask for. An apartment full of people that love, care and support each other. It has given me a home away from home and a family of friends. It has given me more than I could have ever imagined and for that, I am forever grateful.
