I know it might come as a shock to some of you but Kutztown University wasn’t my first choice. Hell, it wasn’t even my second choice. Of the ten institutions I applied and was accepted to- Kutztown was my very last, if-all-else-fails choice. For the record, nothing failed. I was accepted into my reach school which after a three hour drive into New York, became my dream school. But after financial aid packages were sent out my choices started eliminating themselves. By the time my actual back-up school emailed me saying they dropped one of the double major I had applied for, my twin brother had already committed to Kutztown. With the lowest price tag, highest aid package, and my major still being offered- it was the only reasonable choice. I committed to KU without ever seeing the campus, and now- four years later, I couldn’t be happier.
What made Kutztown so special to me in the end wasn’t the spectacular programs, or the classes, trips or the beautiful campus- but the people who live and work there.For the last six semesters I’ve worked as a part of Housing and Residence Life and I’ve come to I came to appreciate the department as a second family where no matter who I was, or how I chose to exist I knew people respected me, and that I not only had a support system, but a wonderful group of friends as well. I’ve also had the pleasure of working with a few absolutely wonderful professors and advisors who continually encouraged me in all of my varied interests.
I’m sort of an aimless person. As a result I have a plethora of hobbies, numerous different collections, and I take on more tasks than I probably should. I want to do everything, but sometimes it ends up making me feel trapped. It’s part of why I changed my major so many times while here, it was hard to choose and say what I really wanted to do with my life when I really want to do everything. Kutztown never made me decide that. I was able to pick and choose classes and minors that interested me and helped me shoehorn all of my little idiosyncrasies into my degree. It’s funny when anyone asks what I’ve learned I get to list out all of my favorite things- things that often felt like silly fascinations or things that weren’t worthwhile to invest my time and effort in.
As a result I’m graduating with a major I loved, three minors that encompass all of my interests, and years of Res. Life experience. On top of that I had the opportunity to write articles and poems for publications on/around campus, worked on two independent studies that I loved- and somehow learned to be a little more comfortable in my own skin at the same time. I cannot thank the coworkers, friends, bosses, professors and advisors that fostered these opportunities and experiences enough. But I can say that I love Kutztown, and it’s people very much and that every day I spent as a Golden Bear was worth it.