By: John Hall, Editor-in-Chief
Every college journey is arduous. The commitment to become someone who is educated in a particular thing or group of things speaks to your understanding that you can be more than you were yesterday.
Making that decision was no different for me; I left a job that I was content in for 11 years, knowing that it would cost a lot. Not only in the sense of money I could have earned but in sleep, in my physical appearance (weight gain and loss/baggage under the eyes), and mentally- as many days I struggled to motivate myself to get up for an 8 am class or completing challenging assignments.
However, what I, as well as many of my classmates, have underestimated, was what we gained. The diploma was an inevitable goal; however, intangibly, we gained knowledge well beyond what four years could provide, experiences that cannot be summated in a picture or video, friendships that cannot be explained adequately enough, and the latitude to express ourselves and grow as individuals.
The Lions’ Pride provided me with many opportunities to grow and become a better student within the state of Florida and others, despite being a Bio Major.
Being a non-traditional international student was not easy; I embraced the challenge of loving who I would become by integrating quickly into the community.
Finding various organizations that would peak my interests and afford me opportunities to venture out of my comfort zone. Being paired with an academic advisor who was caring, intelligent, and had experienced a great deal of what I had before my college journey, made every class and every semester bearable.
I am grateful to Professor Jacqueline Robbins. Her advising and instruction allowed me to be wiser and more tenacious. I encourage all students to develop a healthy relationship with their advisors and express your goals, no matter how frequent they may change.
Every professor I came in contact with provided me with an opportunity to grow or to grow alongside them, as we discovered things about the craft but also ourselves. As tumultuous as the time may have been, Dr. Bondari, Dr. Shor, Dr. Sheridan, Dr. Kiss, and the host of Biology/Science program Professors and coordinators, your guidance, instruction, and life lessons were appreciated by every member of our cohort.
To Professors like Dr. Chris Friend, who taught us to think out of the box and to understand that we were all “mushfaking” through the college process at some point, while the Dr. B. Lee Hobbs’ taught us that the abstract and more colorful concepts are all a part of the hero’s journey – our journey we appreciate you, and we carry the weight of your knowledge but also your understanding towards the next phases of our lives. To the administration of Saint Leo University, thank you for the opportunity to grow, understand ourselves through success, failures, and setbacks by allowing us to learn effectively through them. The only request I make on behalf of those that I leave behind is that you continue to enable this medium (The Lions’ Pride Media Group) to operate as supplementary teaching to what cannot be taught in a classroom. The wealth of knowledge gained throughout these four years mean nothing, if they could not be put into practice, showcased, and be developed through the rigors of trial and error that I have found here.
Saint Leo has allowed us to create long-lasting memories, with persons from all over the globe, with differing experiences helping us to become stronger individuals.
Dr. Valerie Kasper, you gave each of us, past and present, an opportunity that very few will ever give us.
You gave us a voice that we can effectively use at a moment’s notice, one cultivated in the fire of edits, proofs, and fact-checking. There is not one thing my editorial staff or I could say or do to repay you for your patience, guidance, and understanding.
We appreciate who we became, because you allowed us to be what we chose, never forcing us to conform but encouraging us to evolve. These four years have increased our hunger for knowledge, and our passion for hunting the truth. We indeed found out what it was to become Lions.
From becoming a running lion to conducting senior research, the opportunities to share, and grow withing the community provided substance at Saint Leo.
