So, pack up your car, put a hand on your heart – Noah Kahan

There are so many memories you can pin so clearly in your mind. Let me paint one for you. It’s October 2022. The leaves outside my Stanford room are beginning to change colors as piles of readings for Ancients crowd my desk. My hometown Astros are playing the Phillies in the World Series. The melodies of Noah Kahan’s Stick Season filled my AirPods for the first time. 

This album would go on to become one of my most treasured college soundtracks. It is easy to reflect now and realize that the album’s emphasis on growing up and uncovering “beauty along the journey” hit close to home for both the wide-eyed freshman and nostalgic senior.

Looking back, I can wholeheartedly recognize that coming to Villanova was a huge gamble for me. After touring the university during my junior year, I felt instantly drawn to its promise of community. Yet, it was also incredibly unfamiliar and exactly 1,552 miles from Houston.

But hey, sometimes you truly just need to trust your gut and take a leap of faith. You never know the amazing people and experiences that could be waiting for you. 

I would be lying if I said my start at Villanova was always easy. Many of the early days were filled with doubts and homesickness. But in the midst of the challenges, my Stanford shoebox became a home, Communitas introduced me to some of my best friends and walking around campus each day filled me with a sense of pride I had never experienced before. 

You and all of your new perspective now

Throughout sophomore year, I immersed myself in campus life and sought every opportunity I could to continue forming meaningful connections and pursuing my passions. 

This was the year I joined the Orientation and Special Olympics Committee. New friends appeared in random ways I never could have envisioned. Along the way, I spent hours bouncing between my Rudolph apartment, Falvey’s 1st Floor and the back table of El Limon. 

It was a time of discovery and fulfillment. 

It’s been a long year and all of our book’s pages dog-eared / We write out the ends on our palms, dear/ Then forget to read

I spent my junior year realizing that sometimes the best things appear when you least expect them. 

If you had told me that I would have had the chance to study abroad in Dublin, Ireland, for the summer, I never would have believed you. Who knew reading to the end of the Villanova Newswire would bring me the chance to intern for an international senator, travel to the places that filled my books as a child and grow in ways I never thought possible.   

In December 2024, I received an email congratulating me on becoming one of the Co-News Editors of The Villanovan. 

As a lifelong writer, the experience to report on the headlines that shaped the community I loved while working alongside such incredible individuals was one of the greatest gifts Villanova could have given me. Thank you, The Villanovan, for making my Rory Gilmore dreams come true. 

And we’ll all be here forever 

Senior year has been the best.  

Bittersweet from the start, I will never forget the words from my internship co-worker this past summer: “Make sure each day is the best day ever. I miss it all the time.”

I quickly understood what he was talking about when I arrived back on campus in August. It seemed like each day was filled with both a celebration and a “last” in some way. 

Living in Bryn Mawr and experiencing every university tradition, basketball game and Mug Night with my best friends for the last time made for a year of moments I somehow already find myself missing. I simply have no idea how it all went by so fast. 

And I love Vermont, but it’s the season of the sticks

I am forever grateful that 18-year-old me decided to give Villanova a chance. As an almost graduate (literally how), I can confidently say that God knew what He was doing all along by leading me here.

In fact, a part of me wishes that I could just stay on Lancaster Avenue forever. Yet another knows deep down that it is almost time for my next adventure, even if that means venturing into the unknown and carrying all that I have learned and those I have loved.

So, thank you, Villanova, for allowing me to learn more about myself than I could have ever imagined. Thank you for not allowing every moment to align perfectly. Thank you for giving me my people and surrounding me with an abundance of joy. 

You got all my love.