If I could tell my younger self anything, it would probably be to expect and embrace change.
at Waynesburg University.
The path I thought I would take when I came to Waynesburg is completely different than the one I ended up taking. If someone told the younger me I would graduate with a degree in communication and a future career in television news, I would have said they were crazy.
I was fully invested in pursuing a degree and career in STEM as a freshman at Waynesburg University. My path was directed towards chemistry and the plan was to shift more towards physics when it was time for graduate school. Clearly, that is not how things panned out.
Plans and dreams change, especially when you start working on making those dreams reality. The only way to know you need to change a plan is to begin working on that plan, and that is the next thing I would tell my younger self: be involved.
I have been blessed to participate in a number of organizations on campus, ranging from the men’s soccer team for two years to the Yellow Jacket for four. All have impacted me in some way. Without a doubt, participating in those clubs and programs has supplemented my education and given me invaluable experiences and lifelong friends.
That leads into the next thing I would tell younger me: be intentional with what you are doing. That doesn’t mean you need to have a meticulously thought out plan that you follow to the letter. The path I took shows that is not always possible. Rather, it’s critical to understand that everything you do makes an impact on your life and keeping that in mind will help you guide your life.
The last thing I would tell my younger self: embrace Waynesburg’s mission. Over the course of my college career, I have come to appreciate the three tenets that guide the University: faith, learning and service. Those three truly work together to make Waynesburg University more than an ordinary university. It is a transformative place, and if my younger self knew just how it would change me, he likely would not believe it.
