First Day of College

When I graduated from high school, I had one big fear that was hanging over my head and that was college. It was a well-known fact in my family that I would be going to college. Neither of my parents attended college and they wanted me to be the first one to do so. The idea frightened me because I didn’t know what to expect for the next four years, or chapter, of my life.

I live in Girard, Pa. about a half hour away from Erie and there was a branch campus of Mercyhurst there. My next-door neighbor’s sister was the secretary at Mercyhurst West and she encouraged me to attend there. It was a smaller version of the University and class sizes were relatively small as well. I liked it because I was able to have that more personal, intimate relationship with my instructors. One downside to it was the number of students that attended; the number was in decline for awhile and by the the time I got there, there were about 25+ students.

I had always been more comfortable around people that were older than I was. That’s primarily due to the fact that I was raised around adults and I had been shy and reserved for most of my life until late in my high school career. I found myself having that same shy feeling all over again when I started at West because it was completely new to me.

It’s August 27, 2012 and my first day at Mercyhurst West was here. It was a quick two minute ride from my house to where it was and my first impression was there were a lot of people that smoked. The ramp leading to the doors had about seven or so people smoking cigarettes and talking about the first day and it was very intimidating to me. I was afraid at first and I was sure that I did not fit in with this group of people. One interesting thing about the population at Mercyhurst West was that I was the youngest one there and I felt like the baby of the group, which worked out well because the older students took me under their wing and made me feel welcome.

My first class was Art Appreciation and I was told that the instructor of that class, Dr. Sandra Jenkins, was very strict and a little on the rude side. Dr. J was not rude at all to me, but her standards were high and she wasn’t letting anyone fool her. When I met her, I told her that she was my very first professor in a college class and a big smile came across her face and she said to me.

“Well, Brent, I am honored to be your very first professor.”

I soon found a place for myself at West and was proud to be a part of the student population, even though I was the youngest one. Mercyhurst West closed in spring 2014 and I was in the final graduating class. It was a great feeling knowing that I had achieved my Associate’s degree in Liberal Arts and that one-half of my journey in college was complete.