Upon entering the University of Massachusetts in the fall of 2009, I had high hopes and standards for myself and goals to accomplish. I was sure I was going to law school. I was sure I was graduating early. And by the end of first semester, I was 100 percent sure I was transferring.
UMass and I did not have a “love-at-first-sight” relationship, and to this day I can’t pinpoint why.
Maybe it was the fact that my first college class ever was in the Agricultural Engineering Building (I will personally high-five you if you know where that is). Maybe it was that none of my classes were of any real interest to me. Or maybe it was because I had too high of an expectation of what dorm life would actually be like. But as always, my mother was right when she told me to stick it out and that if by the end of my freshman year I was still unhappy, I could look at other schools.
That next semester, I joined The Massachusetts Daily Collegian, and dove head first into what would be one of the facets that would define me as a college student. After penning my first article comparing Kindles and iPads, I was instantly hooked: mainly on the thought of getting to write about cool things and go to concerts for free. Also, selfishly and shamelessly, I was overjoyed getting to see my name on the front page of New England’s largest college daily newspaper. Perhaps this was one of the things that helped me to develop a love for the University and make my ultimate decision to stay easier.
Over the last four years, I have increasingly been proud of my work at the Collegian, as well as my fellow writers over the years. Picking up the Collegian in the morning and forcing all my roommates (Thanks, Townehouse 58) to constantly read my articles became a habit of mine. The compliments I received from friends, acquaintances and professors was an added bonus of the job.
I’ve had a lot of memorable moments while working for the Collegian. One of them was having the opportunity to interview country superstar Eric Church over the phone (what a southern gentleman). The day I ended up writing all of the content for the news section because we were short on content. Another was seeing my name in the “Glory Box” – the paper’s masthead – for the first time. Getting my first email from someone telling me that my review of Wiz Khalifa’s 2010 concert at the Mullins Center was horrible was another highlight. The nights that seemed never-ending – sitting through bylaw changes, the resignation of an executive board member, budget allocations and watching emotional send-offs while attending SGA meetings – now seem to be so far away already.
I’ll also take a secret pride in knowing that I was the go-to girl when you needed someone to whip up a delicious drinks article. Looking back on these moments, I can now see that they were just moments, fleeting in the course of my college career, but they are also memories which I will be able to cherish when I look back on my UMass experience.
Aside from my Collegian-related memories, I have had my share of good times that I will always remember. I have met some of my best friends at UMass, and I thank you all for dealing with my outspoken behavior, mental breakdown and my inability to ever shut up.
I have learned a great deal from my friends, professors, employers, classmates and editors not just about subject matter, but how to be a good friend and overall a good person. While I may not remember what I learned in my Legal Studies 250 class or may have not necessarily showed up to World Politics as much as I should have (Sorry!), the lessons I have learned during the last four years have made me a better person and have sufficiently prepared me to go into the world as a proud UMass alum.
These four years have flown by way too quickly and I have never appreciated my mother’s advice more than when she made me stay the University.
While I look forward to entering the real world and starting my “big-girl” job in June, it scares me that I will never again pack up all my stuff in late August and head back to Western Mass. Until my lease expires on May 31, though, you can find me in the Townehouses mixing up the drinks I have been writing about for the past three years and enjoying every second of the remainder of my undergraduate career.
Ashley Berger was a Collegian staff writer and the paper’s recruiting manager. She can be reached at [email protected].
