SIERRA MILLS
Chief Copy Editor
I’m sure everyone has told you that “College is the time when you’re supposed to find yourself,” but no one expects that journey to have many twists and turns. Well, mine certainly did.
I was already set up for a bumpy road ahead when I decided to transfer from Villa Maria College to Fredonia, a decision that is never easy for anyone to go through. But getting my portfolio denied from the animation major and having to declare myself as “undecided” was another bump in the windy road that would be my journey.
Having a feeling of a lack of purpose or end goal was something that I never anticipated when it came to going to college; I thought this was when my purpose in society would start to click and I would start the mad dash to my goal of a career.
Going through the hustle and bustle of orientation festivities as an undecided student made me feel as though college was just something I would have to hike my pants up and march through.
This feeling remained through my sophomore year, as I would just attend class and immediately go home — a lack of effort that I wanted to maintain just to get my degree in the fastest way possible.
The pattern would continue throughout my first semester as a junior, and would also make me hate going to school and make me feel disconnected from Fredonia.
This disconnect would also affect my GPA as I felt that it didn’t matter anymore.
Turns out what I was going through was “transfer shock,” which is a pretty common phenomenon for transfer students, according to Inside Higher Ed.
But suddenly, on one fateful day, I took a look at a copy of The Leader sitting on the table with a blurb stating that they were looking for people to join, especially copy editors.
After bothering The Leader into joining, I became infatuated with delving into everything I possibly could, especially with the support of Alyssa Bump, who was the previous Chief Copy Editor, pushing me to do more.
After Alyssa graduated, I took the position of Chief Copy Editor and started to join a multitude of different clubs such as Fredonia Radio Systems, FredGrows, Transfer Student Organization and the Student Association.
Finding a home at Fredonia definitely wasn’t easy. Taking a look at my Google Calendar can give you a hint as to how much I am running like a chicken with my head cut off, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Being asked to be the Transfer Student Mentor was something I never thought would ever happen, as I wouldn’t have seen myself as someone to look up to.
So to conclude my mentoring: to all my fellow transfer students, you can and will find a place at Fredonia, it just takes a bit of a jump in the right direction.
Moving forward, the friendships that I have gained here and the mentorship that I have received from my professors and my supervisors from my internships have helped me gather up the courage to take a large step forward in my life: grad school.
While I am absolutely terrified to walk across the stage and move on to Buffalo State, I know that I will have people behind me cheering me on.
I’ll be leaving Fredonia feeling better than when I came in, and I am excited to see what Giulianna Lalomio and the other future Leader e-board members will do to continue The Leader’s legacy.
I would like to thank Alyssa Bump, Chloe Kowalyk, Abbie Miller, EJ Jacobs, Dan Quagliana (honestly the entire Leader E-Board, you all deserve love and recognition).
I would also like to thank those who have mentored me throughout my time at Fredonia, including Dr. Natalie Gerber, Dr. Christina Jarvis, Elmer Ploetz, Josh Croxton (honestly everyone from Academic Advising), Erin Mroczka and so many more!
For the first time in my life, I feel that I am on the right track of the windy road known as my life, and I am ready for that next step.