Dear Beloved Allegheny Community,
Four years ago, I stepped foot on this campus as a doe-eyed freshman with no idea what I was doing. I still remember struggling with courses, making friends, missing my home and being completely uncertain about everything. I entrusted these feelings to my first academic advisor. She was one of the first people, the first staff member, who I realized truly cared about my success. Our success.
Over time, you realize there are plenty of people in our Allegheny community who aspire to see us walk across the stage at the end of our years here. Sometimes all it takes is just stopping by office hours or a club event or meeting you’ve been meaning to go to. Allegheny strives for success. And there is so much support to get us there.
Take it from me. I’ve done a lot of things in my Allegheny career: club presidency, Allegheny Student Government, Residence life, part-time job, The Campus and more, and most of those things all at once. It was very overwhelming at times. But, somewhere between multiple all-nighters in rows, conversations that lasted too long and moments that didn’t go as planned, all of the pressure started to shift. Without my own personal group of the Allegheny family, I would not be at Allegheny College today. Professors, staff, and friends are extremely credited for my success.
Allegheny taught me more than what’s in the classroom. It taught me how to not only rely on others when I need it most, but also that I am incredibly dependent and strong. We are capable of almost anything we put our minds to. The only thing stopping us from achieving it is us. Allegheny also taught me to ask more questions, how to sit with uncertainty and in discomfort as well as how to grow from it.
There were lots of challenges, of course (there always are). Times when things felt like too much to bear or were unclear. But those moments were just as important as the success. They forced me to adapt, to reach out, rethink my next steps and reimagine what success looks like for me.
So, thank you for all you’ve done. You have taught lessons, built strong bridges, instilled a stronger sense of resilience in me and provided endless opportunities. Allegheny College will be a chapter in my life that will forever be special.
If I could tell my freshman self anything, it would be this: there’s no need to have everything figured out. Raise your hand, someone is probably thinking the same thing (even if it scares you). Talk to a stranger a day. And let yourself change.
As I depart from Allegheny, I’m not walking away with all the answers or everything figured out. But I am leaving with something even better: the confidence to keep asking questions, strive for success and keep growing.
-Love, HH <3
