Final ONU Life Poem #14 "Graduation"

Picture it, Ada, 2021. I began my educational journey at Ohio Northern University with eagerness and fear. Since then, I have encountered many students and professors who helped me through their amazing adventures. Within the next few weeks, I will finish my college years, and I wish to look back at what made it such an exciting, yet difficult and unexpected experience.

When I began studying at Ohio Northern, it was during the pandemic, and people were still wearing masks around campus. This was also the first time I experienced classes that began early in the morning and lasted until the evening. In my first year, the professors seemed to be very nice and supportive of every student they had. It also became clear that every professor had their own special ways of teaching. This was either a blessing or a curse. Still, the first semester of my first year went as great as I planned. I contracted COVID and was forced home for two weeks, missing class and hurting my perfect attendance record. It also took a small toll on my grades. If that wasn't bad, I also lost someone close to me during that time, so I was gone another two weeks. I still worked during that time, even though COVID left me unable to breathe, sleep, or stay awake at times. Beyond that, I managed to get back up and worked my pants off to maintain good grades in all of my classes. My professors were very supportive during this time. 

Throughout my career on campus, I also became part of the Student Senate. I served as a housing representative for Maglott my first year and Brookhart the next three years. This was a new experience for me, coming off a high school student council. There were a whole lot of parliamentary rules to follow, budgeting for campus organizations, and service events that put a lot on my plate. I knew I didn't want to join student organizations or Greek life, but I believe Student Senate was the place for me to get involved and control my own schedule. I have done a lot in my housing representative role over the years. I helped out the halls I lived in and provided the next generation of representatives with a blueprint on how to do things properly.

Living here on campus has made me appreciate many aspects of it. I am grateful for the professors who taught me. I missed some after I had left class, especially after the layoffs of history, geography, and political science professors last year. I really like my geography courses, especially how to use ArcGIS and how to draw a physical map. One class I will not miss is Statistics or any other math-related class. I enjoyed my history classes and some of the required classes, like those that delved deep into the natural world. Speaking of the natural world, I know I'm really going to miss the beautiful nature on campus. The walks around the ponds really made my day feel better.  The squirrels and ducks outside my door in the morning were something that made the day enjoyable.

As I leave ONU, I bid you all farewell and best wishes for your ONU career and your career after your own graduation. 

We mustn't feel sad

Though we mustn't feel entirely glad

The friends we made

Will always be our aide

Making our lives forever ironclad