Written by: Mary Cavanna, Zelie Anderson, Madelynne Van Roekel
From the Seniors
Picking a major:
I think [my major] picked me. I was originally an art history major, but my love of theology really came around during my Rome semester because of my art history background. I noticed how much the art was necessarily theological, and I fell in love with the theology within these different works in Rome.
Rising to the challenge of UD:
By the grace of God, I’m rising to the challenge [of UD]. There’s a Russian saying that the same water that softens a potato hardens an egg. When times get tough, I get tougher.
You are fully capable of failing and succeeding. Failing is not bad— you gotta get back up after— that’s what matters.
Finding friendship and community:
I knew immediately what type of friends I wanted, and I did not really care about appearing cool in front of anybody. You make friends with what you attract. And I gotta say, your friends tell other people who you are. So it’s important to have good and holy friendships, but it’s also important to get interested in everybody. I think a huge mark of education is being personable and listening and understanding other people’s stories.
Finding a school-life balance:
Finding a ritual is crucial. My ritual is: I do my skincare in the morning, I do my makeup, I put on my rings, and then I go to Mass every day. It doesn’t matter what happens in the in-between, because I like to make space for whatever is to come by having constant, fundamental rituals. It’s so helpful, because no matter what time of day it is, if you do these rituals, they define the parameters of your day.
Dating:
It is so absolutely integral, fundamental, and I cannot emphasize how important it is— this is life or death of your academic career— do not date within your first year of college. You have this time to form yourself as a person. I’m not sure if you realize this, but you are not fully formed fresh out of high school. If you are, God bless you. I can only speak from experience, but knowing yourself and knowing what you actually need in a partner is so important. John Paul II said in his play, “The Jeweler’s Shop,” when the man proposes to the woman, “Will you be my life’s companion?” Looking for your life’s companion, means that you have to be your own companion first, so take this time as a freshman to absorb all that is around you: get into your studies, create a foundation for yourself, and love will find you. Love has a way of finding you, especially when you’re ready for it. I gotta say, even when you’re not ready for it, it slaps you upside the head, like, here’s the love of your life. Schmack! I think a lot of freshmen make the mistake of finding somebody within the first two weeks and then clinging to them. Focus on making friends, focus on being with your friends, focus on brotherhood and sisterhood. And focus on your relationship with yourself and God; that’s what really matters during this time. One of the reasons maturity level is so integral to a relationship is because they will not be able to respond to your needs as a person if they can’t even take care of their own. It’s iron sharpening iron. That’s what you’re looking for in a relationship — iron sharpening iron.
—Gabi Nagle, senior theology major
Picking a major:
It’s where I need to be. History is my favorite way of knowing the truth.
In choosing between something I’m good at versus something I like, I chose something I like. Don’t be discouraged if you’re not the absolute best; you will get good at the thing you like because you have the passion to keep going.
Rising to the challenge of UD:
I did [rise to the challenge of UD], and I suffered. It’s good to suffer for the sake of something you love and recognize as good. In freshman year, I think it’s so good that students are studying Plato in Phil and Eth because you get to question what is the good. You question things— is this good for me? Is this good for my life? Are these relationships good, as you will encounter in “Nicomachean Ethics.” And I think that that class is particularly impactful, because that’s when you need to decide, am I going to put in the work these four years? Am I going to build here? Am I going to build my relationships, my schoolwork, my intellectual capacities, my abilities, my talents? Am I going to sow good things here at UD? These are questions that come about in this first semester and I think are what led me the most… to accepting the challenge as God was calling me to accept it. I am motivated through Him to complete my studies. And so every time that you sit down at a desk, it is something that you ask God, that the Spirit will enter into you and that you will complete your work with this love and dignity that it has. I think that’s what it means to rise to the challenge. It is not necessarily you doing the rising, but God raises you up in this time at UD.
Friendship:
Look for those who will guide you and encourage you to have a closer relationship with God. When you meditate on that and meditate on your relationships, it’s very helpful. Because if your friends are not helping you become who God wants you to be, that’s not a good friend.
Finding a school-life balance:
Somehow it all works— just be flexible. Because if you’re rigid, you’re going to be disappointed. There’s adoration on campus every single day. I recommend, even if you just have 10 or 15 minutes, go in there every day; it changes your life. Just go in there and just tell Jesus about your day. And he will help you with whatever, even if it’s day to day stuff. He wants to listen to it, so it’s okay. Don’t be afraid to do that.
—Julia Sanford, senior history major
I picked my major by trying out a lot of different things I had never done before.
I had originally wanted to do psychology, but I loved the psychological lens or tablework that UD implemented when analyzing their characters. I was in denial for a while because I had this weird expectation of myself that I had to choose something more practical even though I literally go to a liberal arts school. Being practical isn’t the point— it’s an end goal, an objective for sure— but education should fill you up in other ways besides just point A to point B.
—Alice Forget, senior drama major
Picking a major:
There’s a feeling where you’re not anxious about stuff, where you’re just enjoying what you’re learning, and you’re not concerned about its applicability, it’s just like: this is great.
The importance of perspective:
Do you see something that UD can offer you that you can’t get anywhere else? If you believe that, then work as hard as you possibly can to get it. But if you are going through UD and you’re saying, this is a stupid waste of time, I hate all these classes, then you’re not going to learn anything from them. I think you should have an open mind about all your classes. It is extremely difficult to have an open mind, so it’s not the easiest thing, but I think if you give your classes a chance, then chances are the professors here are just going to astound you. At UD, you’re put in a position to grow more and have a closer connection to God. As you open yourself to having hospitality for God, then there’s beauty in the world; and the joy that you get is so much higher than the satisfaction that you could get before. There’s something about truth, goodness, and beauty, where beauty is a very important part of it.
—Mary Kate Leonard, senior economics major
Picking a major:
I knew that I wanted to teach. I came in pretty settled. You know, I love the opinion that one good teacher can change a life; I was blessed to have two really great teachers. My eighth grade science teacher was an inspiration for me. She taught me a lot about empathy and compassion that I didn’t know at the time. [The other teacher] really guided me through life, and is the reason that I’m an education major today.
Rising to the challenge of UD:
Rising to the challenge of UD was never an academic issue. It was always a self esteem issue. The issue isn’t that we’re incapable of succeeding, it’s that we believe that we’re incapable of succeeding. So any freshmen that are out there, if you feel dumb, I did too. It’s okay. I promise it gets better. Everybody feels stupid, everybody feels incapable. We all feel unqualified. That is part of what makes us such good students— we feel dumb, and we’re here anyway.
Finding friendship and community:
I think once I stopped looking for a group and started looking for people, life got a whole lot easier. Building a community looks like building individual friendships, which become your personal village, not fitting into a village established outside of you. There are parts of the UD culture that I fit into, and there are parts that I don’t, but taking what’s good and leaving what’s not healthy for you specifically changed my experience drastically.
—Sarah Rondeau, senior education major
General
Dalila Sarinana, Sophomore Philosophy major:
On rising to the challenge of UD: “I focused mostly on pursuing knowledge for the sake of my spiritual growth.”
Eve Cox, Sophomore Politics major with a concentration in Ethics:
“It took ages to decide my major because everything at UD was so exciting to me, but I prayed a lot about it, and then the Lord led me to the right thing. I rose to the challenge of UD by remembering that I love the education I’m getting, so I just made sure that I approached my work with an attitude of excitement— because I do love it!”
Emma Wells, Senior, Theology:
“Balancing the way you spend your time is key to thriving! Realize that you have enough time for everything you should do (that might sometimes mean denying yourself some things you’d like to do). God’s the one who gives us time, so surely He’ll give enough for all He calls us to.”
“Going to bed at a consistent and early enough time is one of the best decisions you can make.”
Estella Dermody, Sophomore, undecided:
“Be open and go to things, don’t be afraid to walk up to people. You really have to be brave and say hi. People want to meet, so go up and meet people. If it’s helpful, take your roommate or a buddy and say hi to people you haven’t met yet.”
Beatrice Ellison, English, Sophomore:
“Don’t be afraid to do what you WANT to do! There’s so much wasted potential in being too anxious about time management. It’s not good to live in fear!”
Lily Dorris, Junior, Theology:
“Do not stress about making connections— the important people will make time for you, and you will make time for them. I was worried that by going to dinner at a different time, doing my homework, or going to talks that none of my friends were going to, I would miss out on making connections with them. But don’t compromise on what you want to do— it’s okay to prioritize school work, you won’t lose friendships for it.”
Stephen Ogden, Sophomore, undecided:
“The caf is as good as you are creative.”
Mary Cavanna, English, Sophomore:
“Take time for silence. If you consistently don’t have time for any silence… you’re probably too busy— it’s not cool to overwork yourself! Without silence it’s really hard to tell what you’re doing right and wrong, because you never really contemplate your day-to-day life. Keeping a journal is also super helpful for this.”
Marcin Wolski, Senior English major:
“Don’t stress at all in the beginning, you don’t need to feel like you have it all figured out.”
Clare Padilla, English, Sophomore:
“Prioritize mental health. Take smart breaks.”
Gianna Fiebach, Sophomore, Business:
“Get involved in any way you can, doesn’t matter what it is, could be theater, Blessed is She, sports, just find a place where you can meet people and friendships can come from that. Don’t stay locked in your dorm all day. And don’t wait until the very end of the semester to spend your cap bar dollars.”
Maddy Wayman, Senior English major
“I would say don’t be desperate to make friends immediately. Look for people that you actually like and have common values with and don’t hang out with people just because you’re afraid to be alone. UD is a great place and you’ll make amazing friends here, but that comes with time and you don’t have to be best friends with everyone in the first few weeks.”
Emma Hunter, Theology, Sophomore:
“If you have thirty pages of reading, it doesn’t take as long as you think.”
“Have good time management— you actually sit down and study, you’ll have time to spend with your friends. But if you try to do both at once, you won’t really do either. You might miss out on some things by studying alone, but then I’ll have better quality time later. Don’t be afraid of missing out. Every day you’ll have something new to experience.”
Magda Fait, Sophomore Psychology major:
As an international student coming from Poland, it was hard to adjust at first. However, hope, faith, and joy kept her going, especially as she found joy in doing what she loves— serving.