I’ll tell you what. It’s taking every ounce of my being to not open this post as my grandpa would. I would have to start with something along the lines of “I remember being in your shoes”, however I don’t think I could do it justice without also wearing knee high socks and my shirt tucked into my belly button hugging sweatpants.
I say this because as I begin my final year here at GU, I do kind of feel like a grandpa: reliving the glory days as I picture myself arriving at Gonzaga. Growing up in Omaha, Nebraska, I came here without knowing a soul in the Pacific Time zone. Sure, I was worried about how I was going to make friends, but then there was “school” itself. I had heard about how rigorous college was and how I would really need to put my nose to the grindstone in order to do well, suffering through coursework that I would understand very little of until I studied it 10 times over. I imagined a lecturer standing behind a podium, yapping about material that I could only comprehend a few words of. Needless to say, I was awfully nervous about all of these “College Realities” that people had put in my head.
As it turns out, I didn’t need to be.
I’m the first person to tell you how much fun it is to get together with your buddies on the weekends, but the beauty of Gonzaga is that you will be making connections with people everywhere you look. In your residence hall in the evenings. At the COG over a burger and fries. And yes, believe it or not, in the classroom.
Coming to Gonzaga, you will be amongst some of the best and brightest people, from all walks of life. Your classes will be held with brilliant professors who will turn out to be people you end up staying after class with to chat about something that caught you attention in the news. Often times classes turn into conversations: each person with a different background, each bringing something unique to the table.
Every one of us has a story, and you will be in a community that fosters these conversations and learning from one another. Although I’ve had more than my fair share of late night cramming sessions before tests, I must say that I have learned more about life and more about myself from speaking with other students than I ever did from that darn Organic Chemistry textbook Freshman year.
The thing I didn’t understand while I was studying in my first year at GU, however, was what it means to study. I’m not talking about flash cards or study guides, but rather how you approach studying. The people around you are what bring life to the short story you are reading in an English Literature class or the environment in Florida you are learning about in an Ecology class. We learn from one another, and that personal touch is what will light that fire in your gut and unveil your passions.
I reach across my desk and throw on my sunglasses. They will have to stand in for my grandpa’s thick spectacles because, try as I may, I’m going to have to pull the grandpa card here.
Your time at Gonzaga is going to go faster than you think. You’re going to start out with more general classes, begin studying specific topics that interest you, and before you know it you’ll be in a cap and gown once again as you leave this incredible place. Before I finish, I ask something of you. Leave the door to your room open, talk to the person next to you in your first class, and throw yourself wholeheartedly into this community. By doing so, you will be changed and grow in ways you wouldn’t believe. Soon enough you will be looking back as I am now, wishing you could relive it all over again.
Sincerely,
Taylor Kratochvil
GSBA President 2015