When I opened my decision letter from the University of Connecticut, the only word I read was “congratulations” before I began jumping up and down around my bedroom, and texting everyone I knew that I had been accepted to my dream school. It wasn’t until I reopened my letter after my mini-celebration that I read the full paragraph, which specified that I had been accepted into the Avery Point campus. My initial reaction was confusion, as I had never heard of Avery Point. After doing research, I learned that it was a regional campus I would need to attend for my first two years of college, and my confusion turned into disappointment. It dawned on me that I would not be living in a dorm, I wouldn’t be able to attend the events and games happening at Storrs, and I wouldn’t be able to walk past Paige Bueckers on my way to class (which was a goal of mine). I thought I wouldn’t be getting the full college experience, so I decided to live in a dorm on the Storrs campus, while commuting to the Avery Point campus for class. Although I did walk past Bueckers twice, Avery Point ultimately gave me a college experience that I grew so much from, and I am so grateful for that detour.
The campus
It’s no secret that the Avery Point campus is beautiful. Despite my disappointment about not being on the Storrs campus fully, I quickly fell in love with my new surroundings. Being on the coast, the ocean wraps around campus with so many beautiful views of the Long Island Sound. Regardless of what building or classroom you are in, you almost always have an outlook of the ocean. Every night ended with a gorgeous sunset that turned the campus pink and orange, which was always a perfect way to celebrate me surviving my three-hour Principles of Public Speaking class that went until 8:00 p.m.
I eventually discovered a spot on campus that I would go to whenever I needed space. Being a commuter at a small campus, I had limited options of where I could escape to between my classes, so this spot was special to me. Every time I was overwhelmed by my assignments, anxious about grades, or just needed a break from being around chaos, I would sit outside the lighthouse right on the edge of the shoreline. It was quiet and peaceful, and it made my stress disappear temporarily. The only noises I was able to hear were boats passing by and seagulls flying overhead. This was something so unique about the campus that I loved so much.
My Friends
At the beginning of my freshman year, I was worried I wasn’t going to find my people. I have always been a quiet person, so making new friends tends to be difficult for me. However, by the end of my first week of classes, I had formed a group of friends that would end up being the people I still lean on two years later.
The first friend I made was Anthony. I noticed he was in all of my classes, and we had been assigned to a group together for a project. I learned that he lived close to Storrs, and since we both had an hour-long commute to campus, we began carpooling. Suddenly, the drive to and from Avery Point wasn’t so bad. I had someone to stop at Dunkin’ with for hot chocolate and donuts, and a singing partner who also knew the entirety of One Direction’s discography.
Having a friendly face on campus gave me the confidence to open up and talk to more people. That’s how I met Mike, who asked everyone in our chemistry lab if they wanted to grab lunch after class. Anthony and I accepted the offer, and we joined Mike and some of his friends at Chipotle. This became a tradition, as every week we started going out to lunch together. That group of people became my support system. We studied for exams together, exchanged shared looks of confusion during class, and spent our gaps between classes scrolling through TikToks and gossiping about our lives. We would even stay on campus late for trivia games and movie nights. These people shaped my freshman year at Avery Point, and helped me build a steady academic career for the rest of my time there.
The Faculty
My support system didn’t end with my friends, as my advisor significantly helped me with my confidence, academic anxiety, and motivation. He gave me advice when I wasn’t confident in my career choice, guided me without judgment when I switched my major twice. He did his best to ensure I was guaranteed housing on the Storrs campus once it was time for my campus change. He would stop me in the hallways to ask how my classes were going, and would email me scholarships and events that he thought would suit my career goals. Being on a small campus allowed for strong mentorships between students and faculty, which was my favorite part about Avery Point. This was also prominent in classrooms, as even the professors of my largest lectures knew my name, as well as my strengths and weaknesses in the course.
There was one professor in particular who made an impact on me. She taught a course that I initially thought would be a silly, easy A; however, she reintroduced me to my love for writing. The course was Introduction to Fan Studies, in which we analyzed the behaviors of different fandoms. This included watching edits of The Hunger Games, finding Sherlock Holmes fan art, and creating our own stories based on the novels we read. The creativity and freedom that she gave us allowed me to write exactly what I wanted, which was mostly Conrad Fisher fan fiction. While it wasn’t a traditional literature-heavy or grammar-focused English course, her feedback and encouragement motivated me to begin writing creatively in my free time, which was something I hadn’t done since I was a little kid. I am so grateful for the opportunity to take that course with a professor who took the time to know each student and inspired us to write what we wanted without fear.
The people I met at Avery Point made my first two years of college so memorable and meaningful. Every friend I made, advisor I leaned on, and professor that encouraged me made a positive impact on me and my academic career. Now that I have made my campus change to Storrs, seeing familiar faces from Avery Point around campus always makes me happy and a bit more comfortable on such a large campus.