This weekend and last weekend I helped out with something called Admitted Students Day. This is a day when people who were admitted to the college can come get tours, visit with departments, and generally see what the school is all about before making their final decisions. I worked at the study abroad table promoting international travel to the students.
The event made me feel old. One student even thought I was someone who had already graduated. It was strange to think that four short years ago I was in that position, and now I am about to graduate. The nice thing about this event was being able to describe to everyone why McDaniel was a great place for me to attend, and all of the amazing places I was able to go while studying here. It was also fantastic to see students who decided to deposit meeting their future classmates.
Even though I enjoyed describing the school to students and promoting study abroad, it made me a bit sad and nostalgic. Soon I will be leaving this place and these are the students who will be replacing me. They will be going on study abroad programs while my study abroad program has long since ended. While scary, it is nice to know that for some people, I already look like an adult. Perhaps this is a sign that McDaniel really has made me ready to take on the real world. I hope my confidence in the school preparing me for life was shared with others, and that some of them decided to come here and take the same opportunities I have used to travel to different countries.
Once, four years ago, I was an admitted student making these tough decisions. Now I am making decisions about where to go next. It was refreshing to see the new faces of students and a nice reminder of how McDaniel has shaped me over the years. Seeing these students was scary, but a reminder of how far I have come since then, and I have all of my experiences here to thank for that. I can’t wait to go out into the real world and for the class of 2017 to start their time here. 40 days left!
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