Casey Jones, a senior at St. Lawrence, is a captain of the Riding Team, a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, and a Business and Economics double major. As the school year is coming to an end, along with her time at St. Lawrence, we asked her for her insight regarding her experiences the past four years here.
Q: Now that you’re graduating, you must find yourself looking back on your time at SLU pretty often. What do you think was the highlight of your four years here?
A: Looking back, there’s so many things that I would consider highlights of my time at SLU, but if I had to narrow it down to one, it would be my semester abroad in London, England. Being able to travel around Europe with some of my closest friends, go to the theatre every week, and live with a host family was an amazing experience.
Q: You are captain of the Riding Team, as well as a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. What was it like being involved in both sports and greek life at SLU? How did you balance all of it with your school work?
A: I think one of the best things about Greek life at SLU is that it isn’t all-consuming, and because of that it’s allowed me to fully invest the time and energy that I need to into riding. As far as balancing my school work, being involved in various activities definitely forced me to plan ahead and to manage my time effectively. My days were usually pretty full between all of my obligations, but planning out specific times for when I would do my school work helped me to be more productive.
Q: Is there anything you feel like you missed out on?
A: I really didn’t feel like I missed out on anything until the end of this year, when I started to realize that certain events would be my last ones. I was sad to miss the the Kappa Senior Dinner while I was at the Riding Nationals in Kentucky, but I was also very fortunate to be at the Championships one more time. I realized I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else.
Q: If you had the chance to go back to your first day of freshman year and do it all over, is there anything that you would do differently?
A: Given the chance to do it all over again, I don’t know that there’s anything specific that I could pinpoint doing differently, except maybe that I would go to Club Tennis more than once. However I don’t look back on my time here with any regrets because I don’t really think there is a wrong way to experience SLU.
Q: What are your plans for after graduation? How did SLU help get you to where you are now?
A: After graduation this May, I will be working in New York City doing Financial Recruiting with Beacon Hill Staffing, the company that I interned for last summer. I was able to get my internship last summer by connecting with a SLU alum who worked at the company, so to have that opportunity turn into a permanent position is really exciting.
Q: What resources does SLU offer that you have taken advantage of, and which would you recommend to others?
A: I think that SLU offers so much out of the Career Services Department, and regardless of where you are in the process of looking for a job, internship, or mentor, there’s a resource that you can take advantage of. Apart from actually creating a resume, Career Services sponsors networking events that I’ve really enjoyed attending and that I would highly recommend to any SLU student.
Q: What will you miss most about SLU?
A: Without a doubt I will miss being able to go to the barn and ride every day. Sure, sometimes going to practice when it was zero degrees out wasn’t always the most enticing idea, but I know that it is something I have been very fortunate to be able to do.
Q: What advice do you have for underclassmen and incoming freshmen?
A: My advice to incoming freshman would be that if there’s any club, sport, or organization that they think they might like, they should try it- even just once. Trying these things out is a really great way to meet people outside of your First Year Program and finding out what you do or don’t like so that you can pursue your passions for the rest of your SLU career.
We wish Casey and the Class of 2017 the best of luck on their future endeavors!