Dear Bellarmine Student,
I want to personally write each first-year and second-year student with this message to share some thoughts from my own college experience. It was about this time of year during my sophomore year of college that I was convinced that I should drop out of college. I did not know what I wanted to do with my life, and my friends and sister seemed so directed with their career goals. I thought that I was just wasting my parents' money and I seriously considered dropping out of college. Even though I was a first-generation college student, my parents were not happy with this and told me to think about it.
Finally, when my parents and I talked a week or two later, they agreed that they would support me if that was the decision that I wanted to make with my life and with college. However, by the time we talked, I had decided that I would stay in college, change my major, start taking a variety of classes in other disciplines that might prepare me for my future.
It wasn't until my senior year that I found a mentor (or she found me) that would change the course of my life. She was the Dean of Students and she had just arrived on campus that year. I had been involved in many activities in college including student government, the student newspaper, and I was a manager on the women's basketball team, and a resident assistant. All of these co-curricular involvements brought me great joy and I grew to love the college environment.
My point is that many students are not sure why they are in college or what they will do after college. That is natural and there are so many possibilities once you finish your degree.
This is my personal pep talk to you, hang in there. "Good things happen to those who wait." Become engaged, do not give up, and stop by the Student Success Center, the Career Center, the Counseling Center or Campus Ministry. Talk with your professors or people in Student Affairs. Stay connected. We are here to help you with your college experience.
Sincerely,
Susan M. Donovan, Ph.D.
President