One of my first views of Villanova was the front page of The Villanovan’s website.
As a senior in high school in Miami, I had no idea what life would be like at a college in Pennsylvania. When considering whether to attend, I looked at the student newspaper to get an idea of what was happening at Villanova: campus events, dining hall reviews and a lot of basketball.
This website ended up being a major part of my own college experience. I joined The Villanovan as a freshman and was co-sports editor for four semesters.
Over the past four years, I’ve been able to see the campus from a variety of perspectives.
Members of the class of 2026 have experienced Villanova during a period of immense change: new buildings, new campuses, men’s basketball coaching transitions and the election of fellow Villanovan Pope Leo, to name just a few. While we do not know what walking to class is like without navigating any construction zones, we have seen the school evolve in some ways and stay the same in others.
So, what is life like at Villanova? My answer revolves around a basic truth: the main reason my college experience has been so meaningful is because of the people I’ve been fortunate to spend it with. In case any curious prospective students are reading this, as I did, here is another explanation: being a student at Villanova is being a member of a community and getting to contribute to it in your own way.
My favorite view of Villanova has to be the one from the press seating in the Finneran Pavilion. There, I’ve intently watched dozens of basketball games while crammed next to fellow student reporters and local journalists, speedily writing down stats, sending off Tweets and brainstorming postgame questions.
When I wasn’t focused on my laptop, I would look out at the action on the court and take in the energy from the stands — the roaring cheers at a three-pointer and the reverberating groans when something went wrong. These are not details that I would typically include in an article, but getting to be a part of this collective, tumultuous journey of a basketball season reminds me of what makes college sports so important. The community is why fans pack the stands every game, and why The Villanovan continues to report the news on every sport, every week.
Even as a sportswriter, things always worked best when our staff had the attitude of “we’re in this together” — whether we were making the Basketball Preview Magazine until three a.m., trekking to Beaver Stadium at Penn State, or discussing ideas in the newsroom.
Retired from the sports section for the spring semester, I spent most of the men’s basketball games this season in the stands among my friends and fellow Villanova fans. As much as I’ll miss reporting, it was exciting to be a part of the crowd that I’d watched so many times from the press box.
This gave me the opportunity to look back on how I got to experience the unforgettable thrills and crushing defeats of college sports through the unique viewpoint of a student-journalist. During my four years of writing about Villanova athletics — basketball, football, soccer, softball, baseball, track and field, swim, and more — I was able to see the school from many angles. I talked to athletes and coaches who are incredibly passionate about their sport and representing Villanova. I laughed watching everyone trying to “swag surf” in the student section before tip-off at Big East basketball games. I had the opportunity to tell athletes’ inspiring stories, report breaking news, ask questions that I knew Villanova fans cared about, and engage with the school community in a more exciting way than I ever could’ve expected.
Most of all, I am so grateful to everyone who has supported my journalism over the past four years. My former editors taught me how to report on games, handle important interviews and manage the sports section. The sports staff and the two co-editors I worked with, Owen Hewitt and Dylan Johnson, always made the section feel like a team and Wednesday night meetings one of my favorite parts of the week. I would especially like to thank Michael Bradley, The Villanovan’s faculty advisor, for his support and guidance, and for always holding our work to the highest standard.
As a senior in my last weeks before graduation, I am looking at my time at Villanova from yet another viewpoint, one that I used to dread: retrospect. But as I look toward the next step, I do not exactly feel like I am leaving Villanova behind. I know that I will take everything that I learned, and the relationships that I built here, with me into the future. I’m looking forward to coming back to campus and unlocking a new perspective: that of an alumna, as a proud member of ‘Nova Nation.
