Since I was a little girl, I have lived 10 minutes from Monmouth University. I had seen it up close several times, having been to Pollak Theatre for my annual dance recital from age 4-15. Throughout all these years, I had been a spectator, with dreams of being on the inside of the stunning campus myself.
When it came to my senior year of high school, my plans had gone slightly differently than I had imagined. I found myself a student at Brookdale Community College, which turned out to be the best decision for me at the time. There, I ended up switching majors, finding my true calling and when it was time to graduate, my first choice of transfer schools was Monmouth University.
Getting my acceptance letter was a day to celebrate, with all the hard work I had done at Brookdale paying off, and seeing that my dream school was just inches away now. From the moment I stepped on campus, all I could say to myself was, “I can’t believe I’m here right now.”
I was in utter shock at the very sight of campus, the view from the other side. I had been dreaming of this moment my whole life.
“I can’t believe I get to go here!” I told my parents, and still do repeat this to them weekly. Now that we’re nearing halfway through the semester, all I can say is wow. I’ve received such incredible support from fellow transfers, some who also came from Brookdale, and made friendships with students who share my interests and major.
There are professors, such as Dr. Patrick Love, Ph.D, Associate Professor in the Department of English, who have shown me how equally passionate they are for teaching, and as an education major, that has been so amazing to see. I got so comfortable in such a short time with the Department of Education itself. Carrie Digironimo, M.S., School of Education program advisor, showed such genuine interest in me and my career goals since the summer, before I had even had the chance to make a schedule and plant my feet here. She helped me feel welcome, congratulated me on my efforts, and was truly always one call away.
Community has always been something that for me, was so incredibly important to have wherever I went. I have to say that before I started here, I was definitely afraid of being the student that goes to class and goes right home because I was scared of not finding a place for me here.
Since I’ve started the fall semester, not once did I feel alone as a student coming from a different educational background than most of my class. There are tons of opportunities and events on campus to get to know people, stay engaged, and to really enjoy the college experience no matter how you joined. I have taken advantage of awesome after school events like the Bingo Night hosted by SGA, have toured every office of the Student Center to get to see what services and help is offered.
To any transfer student or soon-to-be transfer student, hear me when I say you will never feel like a transfer. I personally have felt like I’ve been here my whole life, like Monmouth was just always waiting for me all this time.
No matter how we get here, it doesn’t matter, what matters is that we’re here. So pat yourselves on the back for making it this far, and know you will have so many chances to share your full education journey without feeling bad that you might’ve started out elsewhere. If you’re like me, you might’ve even considered once that nowhere is going to feel right like your previous institution did. You may have even dreaded starting fresh because of your fear of change, I know I did.
I worried about having to start all over again, learning new study spots, figuring out where my classes would be, all of the little things that feel so big for some reason when it’s two days before the start of the semester. This had been my dream school for so long, but there I was biting down the last of my nails I had left over quite the anxious summer preparing for change. I imagined I would be thrilled, losing sleep over excitement, but instead I couldn’t stop wondering if I’d stick out like a sore thumb.
Everyone on my support team, including my parents, my brother, my best friend and even an old friend, Emily who was now a senior at MU, had all told me everything would be fine. Still, I concern myself with not having a place here. How wrong I was.
I can proudly say after being a Monmouth student for two months now, that I was so, very wrong. It didn’t take long for me to find my place here, to be myself and create a new college life for me. When I was a little girl, and we used to drive by campus, I’d always say “One day, I’m going to go to school here.” Now as a 21 year old transfer student, I am here, and more importantly, I belong here.
