Rollins College Home

R-Journals Home
Apply Now! Meet Aditya Meet Brittany Meet Daniel Meet Jenn Meet Omar
Meet Shannon
Admission R-Journals Feedback Campus Web Cam

R-Journals

Back to R-Journals home

End of Days

May 20, 2008

Another year has come to an end, but this year is different from most others. My first two years at Rollins, I was acquainted with some seniors, mostly as peer mentors, RAs, or other campus leaders. This year, some of my close friends are leaving Winter Park for new challenges and opportunities.

My friend Monica Pena, a member of the cross country team and the Newman Club, is beginning medical school at Florida State University only a few weeks after she graduates. Erica Tibbetts, a member of the crew team and a fellow Honors student, is leaving the country after she graduates. She will fly to Melbourne, Australia and spend a year down under living and working. My roommate from Australia, Alex “Smitty” Smith, is joining the United States Marine Corps.

The hardest part for me is that my best friend, Aldo Ahlers, is graduating. He has helped me through many difficult times and coached me through some tough decisions. When I first came to Rollins, I made a lot of friends, but few that I felt comfortable opening up to or coming to for advice. Aldo is the kind of friend that knows when to have fun and when to be serious and can easily switch back and forth. It’s upsetting to me that he’s leaving, but luckily for me he won’t be far away. He is enrolled in Rollins’ Crummer MBA Program for the fall and will only be living a few miles from campus. Even so, it’s distressing that so many of my friends will be leaving me.

I have learned a lot through their experiences and through my experiences with them. I feel especially prepared for my senior year because of all of the advice I have received about writing my Honors thesis, about managing my time, and about taking advantage of every moment I have left in this fantastic four year journey. Many of my friends have counseled me to leave as few classes as possible for my senior year so that I can spend as much of it as I can enjoying the best part of college, the friends.

Rollins has so many great programs that help make these friends. Beginning with first-year orientation and the Rollins College Conference (RCC) course, Rollins creates many opportunities to find friends. RAs continue putting on community-building programs to help neighbors meet each other. Rollins even has intercession classes teaching leadership that double as ice-breaking events for campus leaders. My position next year as a member of LEAD Team also encourages networking and friendship between campus leaders, campus organizations, and members of those organizations. I have never been a part of an organization that puts relationship-building as a higher priority than Rollins.

R-Journals is a program sponsored by the Offices of Admissions and Public Relations & Communications. Your feedback is greatly appreciated. Click here to send your comments.

Daniel's R-Journal archives: