Navigating change: lessons from this school year

This school year at the University of St. Francis (USF) has been a rollercoaster. Our small community has taken hit after hit, cut after cut. Majors have been cut, SGA clubs got their budgets slashed by 25% and campus favorite faculty and staff members have been laid off. 

Being a third-year student at USF, this school year was unlike anything I have experienced before. Specifically, as a resident who lives on campus, is involved in a variety of activities and whose major was at risk of being cut, I feel as though this school year has taught me a lot of life lessons. 

Take my advice or not, but I think these lessons are things that every USF community member can take from. 

My first lesson is not to take things for granted while you have them. My major is political science, and for my first year and a half, we had classes at the St. Bonaventure campus in downtown Joliet. We had very small class sizes, meaning the professor had time to truly get to know each of us. At the front desk of the Plaster Center building, every day was the same lovely security guard who got to know every student. 

Then, suddenly, in the second semester of my sophomore year, it was announced that the Plaster Center at St. Bonaventure would be closed for the semester; then, with this year’s budget cuts, it became permanent. My current academic experience is not horrible, but part of me wishes I had not taken that supportive, close-knit environment for granted. 

The second lesson I want to share is to be open-minded. Change is hard, especially when it involves cuts of all sorts and threats to the future you meticulously planned. A lot of plans may have been pushed off course this year. It sucks, but the only thing we can do from here is to keep going. Rather than giving into the negative side of these changes, look on the positive side. With the downtown campus closed, I was pushed onto the main campus, which allowed me to meet the people I call my dearest friends today. 

My third and final lesson to share is do not be afraid to lean on the community around you for support. A big draw of USF to many students, and even professors and staff, is its close-knit community. The chance we have to not be a drop in a sea of thousands of students but rather be seen, heard and cared for is what keeps USF going in hard times like this year.

So why not utilize this community? 

Do not be afraid to lean on the people around you, whether it be your fellow major students, people in your club, or your favorite staff members. We have all made it through this year together, and we can continue to thrive with each other's support.