Senior Tribute

Class of 2019, Executive Board |

Hanna:Sometimes Oneonta can be pretty discouraging. It’s easy to look back at the past few years and only remember trudging through the feet of snow that never seems to melt, driving five miles per hour so your car doesn’t skid on the icy roads, and roaming the campus parking lots for what feels like hours to find a spot. But when I really reflect on the time I’ve spent here, I feel incredibly grateful for the opportunities for academic as well as personal growth that SUNY Oneonta has given me.

One of the best things about SUNY Oneonta is that it gives students the opportunities to explore a variety of paths; I’ve gotten the chance to become familiar with both the English and theatre departments, making strong connections with all different types of people that are undoubtedly long-lasting. The most important thing college can do for you is give you experiences that will make your life richer, and it has definitely done that for me.

I’ve been able to do a lot in my three years here, but the most valuable thing that this school has given me is confidence in my abilities. I will be forever thankful for my SUNY Oneonta experience.

Adam: I think the most important thing I learned about college during my time at Oneonta is that time is extremely limited, and sometimes we forget about things that matter because we focus so much on school, work, or the notion of accomplishing the bigger things.

Balancing school, socializing, and sleep is absolutely possible, though everything we might consider significant doesn’t actually last because time simply doesn’t wait for us. We may not see some friends we made here for the rest of our lives. Grades? Once you’ve graduated, are you really going to stress over them again? And sleep—oh sleep, we miss it every moment that we’re awake; yet we’re going to spend one-third of our lifetime sleeping.

So I guess we don’t have to worry, but maybe we do? I don’t know. Sometimes I think Oneonta is not a real place. The friends I’ve made that I know I want to keep for the rest of my days are essential in defining my time here. And the diploma! I can’t believe it’s almost time to receive my long-awaited degree. What am I going to do with it? I don’t really know that either, but I for sure am looking forward to life ahead and how my passion for writing will translate to the betterment of society.

The people at the State Times and the organization in general have solidified my want for a career. I hopefully will see them again in the industry, but this time as a publishing journalist and not a fellow student. Cheers.

Katie: Last May, when most of my friends who made such an important impact on my college career were graduating, I sobbed in my friend’s living room to “I Lived” by One Republic (okay, don’t judge me).

I think about it now, and it makes me cry to this day because it accurately sums up my college experience and my time here at SUNY Oneonta. I cried last year, not only because my foundation at SUNY Oneonta was moving to bigger and better things, but because it means that I would be able to relate to this song more a year later. And a year later, that stands true. I really did it all; I completed my coursework in both English and Women’s and Gender Studies, multiple jobs, and even more extracurriculars. I was a part of so many things on campus, and was able to balance multiple hats while still enjoying myself and making memories and experiences that will last a lifetime.

To think that in less than a month, my time here in the 607 will come to an end still feels surreal. This place has been home to me. I have worked tirelessly to be involved, to make a difference, and to build myself into the person I am today. If you saw me in high school, you would see a drastically different person than who is graduating from SUNY Oneonta in May, and I owe that growth, knowledge, confidence, and drive to the people and opportunities that I have met here these past four years.

“I, I did it all

I, I did it all

I owned every second that this world could give

I saw so many places, the things that I did

Yeah with every broken bone

I swear I lived”

Thank you, SUNY Oneonta. Thank you for the confidence, the opportunities, the triumphs and the failures, and the incredible family I made here. Thank you for gifting me with so much more than I could have asked for.

Where to next? Well, there’s just no telling how far I’ll go. But I know that there comes a day (or four years) where you’re gonna look around, and realize happiness is where you are.

Tara:Sometimes when I look back on my time at SUNY Oneonta my freshmen year feels like it was a completely different life, and sometimes it feels like it was yesterday. One thing I did not expect coming into college was how up and down it would be. Throughout most of my high school years everything followed the same routine with the same people, and I expected that once I got into college that it would be similar. However, over the course of my four years here I’m amazed at how much has changed. Every year was different from the one before and every semester felt like a step in a new direction. Overtime I slowly grew into the person that I am today and while I had a few bumps in the road on the way there, I’m sure that those moments played a key role in how I’ve reached this finish line.

Throughout my first year at this school I was lost and completely out of my comfort zone, but I pushed myself to try new things. In my sophomore year those new things became passions that I then got to work with every day. While I might not miss stressing over assignments and tests, I’ll definitely miss the friends that I’ve made and the experiences that I had here. Whether it was discovering something I loved in the classroom or binging TV shows with my roommates, the memories that I made at this school will always stick with me.

One thing that I’ll be taking away from my four years here is that we’re always going to be a little lost on the first page of our next chapter, but by the end it always comes together. So while SUNY Oneonta is the place where I felt as lost and confused as ever, it is also the place where I found myself and uncovered so many new things. For that experience I will always be grateful.

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