Hey St. Edwards, just wanted to write  to say thank you, because this is a pretty cool school. I’m a spring transfer, coming from a university where I struggled to fit in and make friends, and I’m very thankful to have arrived here.

Everyone has been so good to me. In December, before the semester even started, I had to spend a lot of time in the admissions office. I had to see the people three days in a row, and every time they were more friendly than the last, almost excessively friendly. Honestly, by the last day I was kind of looking forward to seeing them.

Welcome week for transfer students was great. I appreciated how administrators emphasized financial aid opportunities here, as well as prospective employment post-college in their opening remarks.

I met my adviser Nick Phelps during that week, and shout out to him, because that dude has got it down. He helped me place out of a couple classes with previous course credits, and track down the professors whose signatures I needed to enroll in their classes.

Speaking of classes, it’s so nice to learn in a setting where professors know everyone’s name. Coming from a school with 250-person lecture halls, this change is most welcome. 

Not only have the professors impressed me, but the friendly police officers, dining hall workers, and really the whole faculty have as well. Even the librarians are social.

The kids are so friendly. There’s this immediate sense of trust that’s really blown me away. My first week here, students were walking me across campus, making sure I got to the right building. I went to Hilltop Views’s first meeting and I’ve already gotten an assignment.

One kid even let me join his intramural basketball squad without meeting me! We’ve lost every game so far and I’m not sure we could beat my 8th grade travel team, but hey, there’s always next year.

All in all, you St. Ed’s kids are pretty fresh. You have a diverse student body, and everyone is welcoming. There’s no sense of social stigma that I’ve encountered elsewhere. From the student-athletes to LGBTQ crowd, to the international and foreign exchange students and of course the flannel wearing, haircuts-with-bangs hipsters, you guys are all cool. Keep rockin’.

So yeah, so far St. Edward’s rules. I mean, the parking for a commuter kind of sucks, and I’ve already been hit with a ticket, but no school is perfect. 

And after the ten-minute encirclement around campus, checking every lot for that one spot to squeeze into, I step out of the car looking forward to another day on campus.