When I first entered the University of Massachusetts in September 2010, Hampshire Dining Hall was best-known for its burritos, Commonwealth Honors College was an abstraction and Mission Improvable shows were the best way to kick off any Saturday night.
Now, as I prepare to graduate nearly four years later, Hampshire Dining Hall is best known for its fresh-squeezed fruit juices, Commonwealth Honors College has become a residential complex and Mission Improvable shows are still the best way to kick off any Saturday night.
As a seasoned senior who has somehow survived four years of college on zero cups of coffee, I now have the credibility to share my acquired nuggets of wisdom with any underclassman who may care to listen: remember to keep an open mind, take healthy risks, treat others with respect, think for yourself, and above all, learn to see your failures as opportunities.
As a side-note, Mango Mango is probably the most underrated restaurant in town.
Upon reaching life milestones, it is important to thank the individuals who have enabled one to arrive at the occasion. My professors, classmates, roommates, RAs, TAs, friends and family have all enhanced my college experience immeasurably, providing me with guidance, inspiration and support.
There are several other understated people on this campus who I would like to acknowledge as well.
Let me start with the folks at Earthfoods Café: you have taught me that mac ‘n cheese does not even compare to mac ‘n squash, and that no meal is complete without some kale and tahini. Despite our undue separation, my mouth will continue to water every time you post your menu.
Moving on to People’s Market. Four words: coconut-covered date rolls. Even though your cash register never seemed to get along with my UCard, your unique products, upbeat music and personable staff have made you an irresistibly charming place to visit between classes. Campus construction may have blocked off so many central pathways that visiting you became nearly impossible, but no amount of aesthetically unappealing, inconveniencing construction work has ever stopped me from attaining my precious date rolls.
Recreation Center group fitness instructors: your talent for shouting instructions over blaring music has gone perfectly with my lack of self-direction. Your classes have provided a motivating and supportive environment that is considerably less intimidating than the second floor weight room. I will never understand how you manage to remain so peppy while holding that three-minute plank along with the rest of us.
PVTA bus drivers: you have performed the often thankless task of shuttling me around this giant campus, whether it be from the Haigis Mall to Northampton, or from Lederle to the Fine Arts Center on my lazier days. Your professionalism and grace is commendable, especially on those wild Saturday nights when the bus is overflowing with overzealous students.
To the student who dropped the class in my SPIRE shopping cart in Spring 2012—thereby allowing me to enroll: thanks to you, I narrowly avoided the professor who is rated a 1.4 on RateMyProfessor. Whoever you are: you enhanced my overall well-being for the rest of the semester without even realizing it.
To all UMass students, past, present and future: whether or not we’ve crossed paths by the library wind tunnel, I will continue to feel a sense of solidarity with you wherever the DuBois winds may take us.
In just a few short weeks, my years in Amherst will be reduced to a handful of Facebook photos and a single piece of paper known as a diploma. This single piece of paper, while significant, will hardly capture the four years that led to its attainment: years filled with learning, joy, excitement, anxiety, confusion, wonder and slices of Antonio’s pizza.
To understand the true value of this diploma, one must remember to read between the words.
Because ultimately, in defining a college experience, the stuff between the words is what really matters.
Merav Kaufman is a Collegian columnist and can be reached at [email protected].
