My Long Journey to UConn

Hello everyone, Lauren B. here,

For my first blog post, I figured it is only fitting to illustrate the long journey that brought me to UConn. It seems like it was just last week I was a high school senior in my hometown of South Windsor, Connecticut, suffering from a severe case of Senioritis, but eagerly looking forward to my college experience because I knew exactly what I wanted in a school…..or so I thought. While filling out my applications, I only had three requirements I wanted the school of my dreams to have: my major, to be out of Connecticut, and to have a relatively small student population. As I am now living less than a half hour drive away from my home and residing on a campus with nearly 17,000 other undergraduates, clearly I was a little off in my judgements.

So off I went to Roger Williams University, a small school outside of Providence, Rhode Island with less than a fourth of the undergraduates at UConn. To be honest, it took about five weeks and one visit to the University of Connecticut to know that it was not just homesickness that I was facing, but that I had made the wrong decision. Unfortunately, by the time I came to this realization, the deadline to apply for the Spring Semester had passed and I knew I would have to wait to (hopefully) get admitted in the Fall of 2011. In the mean time, I thought that it was absolutely necessary that I get off Roger Williams campus immediately, so I made the decision to live at home for the Spring and commute to Eastern Connecticut State University. Although it was a bit of a hassle to transfer from two schools, it was definitely all worth it when I finally ended up in Storrs.

Like I said, all I needed to do was pretty much set foot on the UConn main campus to realize that this is where I should be spending my college career. While visiting a friend, we walked into the Student Union and I immediately texted my Mom that I wanted to go to UConn. In spite of the fact that she may have thought I was kidding, the environment alone had already made me feel at home.

And now I’m here, and representing all that I immediately fell in love with about UConn as a Lodewick Visitors Center tour guide. I live in a quad with a great group of girls who all transferred as well (one from Roger Williams, too!). I love walking around campus and always seeing something going on, the spirit of UConn athletics, and the multitude of clubs and organizations that are available. I’m enjoying the Communications Society and can’t wait for my first Alternative Spring Break trip in March. The more I get involved, the more I have to look forward to and love this school. Even though there were a few obstacles in the way, I feel as though my journey at UConn is just beginning.