Although right now my experience to you may sound perfect and my adjustment to college may appear to have gone smoothly, it did not. I had come from a small Catholic high school and to say the least I was a "big fish in a little pond," and expected my notoriety to continue. However, I found that people here were smarter than me, more athletic than me and maybe even had more to offer than me. I was rejected from certain clubs on campus and some of the other things that I rushed into were simply not a good fit. I may have forced too many things, rather than letting them happen naturally and I began to get down about my situation. However, I never gave up on me making the adjustment to college life - of wanting to make this place work, because I knew it could, and I heard from so many other upperclassmen and graduates that PC was a great place!

Freshman year at Providence was a lot like my transition to high school, believe it or not. I had left my public school friends for a Catholic school education. My high school is very near and dear to me, but that feeling did not develop overnight. I used that high school experience to keep my hopes up and not get too discouraged when I didn’t feel that Providence and I were a good fit at first. I knew that all I needed was time and eventually the pieces would fall into place. I continued to do things that made me happy such as attending sporting events, being physically active and attending weekly mass, where I collected my thoughts, searched for guidance and even prayed for better days. Finally, at the end of my freshman year, I decided to apply for the Admission Ambassadors and after interviewing I was selected to be a part of the group. Now it is kind of ironic that I was selected into a group that are the advocates for the school and at the time I probably wasn’t really “feelin’ the love," but I had put my best foot forward in the interview because there were still many things that I appreciated on this campus, it was just about finding my place and for me, being an Ambassador was a start. I knew I could become even more of an advocate once Providence felt like home. That really is what a lot of freshman year is about, making college your home. By the end of the year, things were changing. I found my friends. I looked forward to having them as roommates. I had this group that I was a part of and by the end of my first year, I was excited to be a Friar.

I was eager to come back to my sophomore year knowing that I wouldn’t be going through freshman year jitters and awkwardness. Providence was comfortable. I felt confident and happy. It was an entirely new place, and I was ready to make the most of it. I was grateful (and still am) knowing I was getting a great education. I became more involved with admissions and enjoyed being with PC friends who had the same interests and lifestyles. I played intramural basketball and soccer. Sports were a place where I had experienced success in high school, and it was fun to be part of a team again. I loved going to both Schneider ice arena and the Dunkin Donuts Center and watching our hockey and basketball teams. More and more, I began to develop my niche. I even decided to participate in an alternative spring break with a group of ten PC students. We traveled to North Carolina to build houses for Habitat for Humanity. This was a great experience. I felt good about doing a service project, something that this college encourages, and I was able to travel to another part of the US where I had never been before; I was meeting new people in the PC community while having a great time. Providence College provided the opportunities, and I realized how lucky I was to be here.

Even though things were going great, I knew I wanted to follow through with one of my dreams and life ambitions. I decided that I would be taking a break from PC this past semester to travel abroad to Galway, Ireland. It was tough thinking of leaving for a few months, because by the end of sophomore year everything seemed so perfect, and Galway was new and uncertain. Regardless, it was a risk I didn’t give too much thought to. I was going. Ireland was amazing and so were the other countries I visited. It was an experience of a lifetime, and if I could give any of you advice, it would be to go abroad because you may never have the chance to spend four months living in another place, foreign and exciting. Not only did I love Europe, but I also loved how much it made me appreciate the Providence College I left behind. There were times when I did miss friends, this campus, the people and all the activities that are part of our day-to-day lives here. Even amongst the green fields and stone walls, I discovered that I had the best of both worlds and truly how fortunate I was to be a PC student both now and in the future.