UNA became home

UNA was not my first choice in schools. With a five hour drive separating me from home, it was the closest I could get to being “out of state” without actually leaving.

I wanted to be a K-State Wildcat, and I spent my first semester crafting the perfect plan to convince my parents to let me go there and be with my best friend.

Obviously, the scheming didn’t work out, and I’m really glad it didn’t.

This institution has taught me an awful lot, not just in academia, but in responsibility, time management and goal setting. Throughout these four years I have learned just the type of person I want to be, and I am excited for the future because of it.

If someone had told me at SOAR that by the time I graduated I would have joined Greek Life, held positions on National Panhellenic Council and in my own sorority Zeta Tau Alpha, become president of two honor societies, enjoyed two on-campus jobs, served in SGA for three years, visited three countries, gotten engaged, planned a wedding and been named editor-in-chief of The Flor-Ala, I would have thought the kid was nuts.

But each of those positions opened the door to greater opportunities and they have all taught me valuable skills that I will use in my future.

I have learned the difference between constructive criticism and criticism; each role taught me how and when to apply it to my own performance. I learned how to address people and communicate effectively.

Most importantly, though, I realized how to look at every day with a positive attitude.

There have been times — too many to count — when this job at The Flor-Ala was the biggest pain in the butt, and I asked myself why I even bothered in the first place.

The Flor-Ala staffs — editors, photographers, business representatives alike —are the reason I came into this office every day.

This group of editors in particular should be commended for their hard work, often unseen by the campus community. Over this past year, they have lost a copy editor (which explains some unfortunate typos), a sports editor and an adviser.

They have learned to overcome hurdles with malfunctioning computers, worked on snow days, spent way too many late nights worrying about page designs and had to balance classes and their personal lives on top of it.

It takes a strong group of people to still manage to come into work smiling each day, ready to tackle yet another project that would inevitably turn out entirely different than originally planned, but they did.

And when I think back on it, I think it’s exactly how my four years at UNA were too — a little unpredictable. I’m incredibly grateful my plans were consistently altered as new doors were opened for me at this university.

I have met a wonderful group of goobers I can call my friends and some outstanding mentors along the way.

Best of all, I discovered a home at UNA.