Over the weekend, I had the privilege of being on campus for Preview Day, and it really opened my eyes to how proud I am to be a student at UNA.

I was so surprised at how much school spirit I felt over the weekend with all the guests we had on campus. I cannot express how much I love being a part of the UNA community. Just talking to prospective students and parents this weekend made me feel a sense of gratitude for what UNA has done for my life.

I know I have said this in the past, but the UNA community has so much to be proud of. UNA has an awesome international student base, a really diverse student body and an awesome group of professors and staff members who really care about students.

Not only has UNA given me a place to receive a quality education, but it has also given me a chance to grow as a person, professional and student.

UNA has provided me an opportunity at The Flor-Ala, which I would not have been able to get at a larger institution. The paper and the experience it has given me will be an experience I will never be able to repay. Being involved in the paper has given me the chance to meet with the president of this university, the president of the Student Government Association and many other campus leaders that many students rarely get to interact with.

Yes, I do cover some controversial things at UNA that do not always show UNA in a good light, but I still love this university and what it does for the community and the students who attend it.

Furthermore, seeing high school students and other prospective students light up at the sight of Leo III and Una really gave me a second wind of school spirit that I once had as a freshman here.

I started out attending UNA working a retail job, which was inevitably a dead-end job, and now that I work on campus and at the paper, I have a new appreciation for the university community. I cannot explain how awesome it is to be involved in the university and its future. Being involved in the ever-evolving UNA community is such an amazing experience for me and will one day be a priceless opportunity that I will not know how to repay.

If there was one bit of advice I could give to fellow and prospective students, it would be to get involved on campus and get involved early. I have written many stories about the prospective job market over my nearly two years at the paper, and so many people say that it’s not what you learn while you are in college, it is what you do with your time while you are in college.