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When looking for a college, I would have never expected to end up at the same school my parents graduated from. However, on my first tour, I fell in love with the campus and experienced many warm welcomes. When freshman move-in came along, I was a nervous wreck. I worried about not knowing anyone, but I quickly made new friends at the Patriot Party during Weeks of Welcome. 

In addition to my friends, I had great mentors here as well. For instance, during my first few years at ���ϲ�����, I was part of the JV tennis team. Coach Tan taught some very valuable lessons on and off the court. As a double major in business administration and criminal justice, I had the pleasure of having Dr. Tan in class. While he may not have been the “easiest” professor in some students’ eyes, he was preparing us for the real world. I admired that we would shake our classmates’ hands every morning and be greeted with “Good morning, managers.” At the end of the day, he stressed the importance of being ONE BIG TEAM.\

Another big factor is how inexpensive it has become to attend college here. Back in 2019, the ���ϲ����� Commitment was initiated, cutting tuition by half. Then, a year or two later, the university began including rental textbooks as part of our tuition costs, so now nobody has to pay for textbooks anymore. And recently, there was another addition to the Commitment, one that ensures that on-campus undergraduate students like me have low out-of-pocket costs each year. The lowered tuition was a deciding factor for me in the first place when I chose this university, but if I were a senior in high school again, the newly improved ���ϲ����� Commitment makes it a no-brainer.

Campus ministries had the most significant impact on my time at ���ϲ�����. I received a Christian Leadership Scholarship where I was told I had to choose a ministry team to serve on, and I chose Appalachian Ministries, or AM for short. AM is a program where we went into lower-income communities nearby and showed the kids living in those areas a love like Jesus’. We did Bible lessons, games, and crafts with the kids weekly. It was very eye-opening to see the kids’ living conditions. At the end of the day, they always showed up with a smile on their faces, which encouraged me to uplift others as well. I was on the AM summer team a few years ago, and while I was exhausted at the end of every day, it was by far the best summer of my life. The connections I made with people on the team, from other churches, and with the kids are truly special. They’re the kind of relationships you do not come by often.

Finally, ���ϲ����� was an excellent school for people searching for a caring community. The small class sizes allowed me to develop connections with professors, which is beneficial to further understanding content and building a network. There were always events on campus, which meant there was never a dull moment (even in this small town of Williamsburg). Some of my favorite events were Silent Disco and Spotlight (a singing competition); can you tell I am a music fan? While visiting the local Walmart may become your favorite pastime (don’t judge, it’s just real life), the people you meet along the way are something you treasure forever. You may remember some events, but most of all, you’ll remember the people. As you choose what college to attend, I hope you find a place where the people there seem to be the kind of community you could truly connect with and enjoy.