I sat outside Woodcrest on this beautiful day reflecting on everything that has happened in the past 25 years since I first moved onto Cabrini’s campus.
August 1994 seems like yesterday — it’s amazing how fast time flies.
So much has changed — the college is now a university, it has many new residences & buildings including the brand-new parking garage, more undergraduate & graduate degrees, a much more diverse student population, a national championship team.
Yet so much is exactly the same — the smell of Xavier Hall where Steph’s niece just moved in, the excitement of driving up the KOP Road entrance, the beauty and tranquility of campus, the feeling of being home.
I’m thinking of that 18-year-old girl back in 1994 and how much she has grown personally, professionally, emotionally, and mentally. Although I’m older, wiser, and a lot fatter, I still see pieces of her in myself. If I could go back in time, I would tell my 18-year-old self that she is stronger than she realizes, that she will weather any storm, and that everything may not turn out as planned but she will always be okay.
It’s been a quarter century, but I still remember the excitement of setting up my room (three girls squeezed into a triple), hanging up my gigantic Kurt Cobain poster, complaining of no air conditioning, sitting in the hallway of the 2nd floor doing freshmen icebreakers, struggling to wake up for my 8:15 class, my first trip to the KOP mall, hanging out in the WigWam, ordering super cheese fries & chicken fingers from Campus Corner, our first house party where us freshmen girls showed up way too early and looked like total dorks, learning from Cabrini’s best professors (Jerry Zurek, Cathy Yungmann, Joe Romano, Jim Hedtke, Jolyon Girard, Cynthia Halpern, Sharon Schwarze, Anne Kruse, Marilyn Johnson, Shirley Dixon, Carol Serotta, Bob McGee, Adeline Bethany), being mentored and supported by the amazing staff (Martha Dale, Nancy Costello, Emma Legge, Bob Bonfiglio, John Dzik, John DiMucci), and meeting new friends who became my lifelong friends.
Cabrini changed my life and helped sculpt me into the person I am today. I’m thankful that I had such an amazing college experience (which I’m still paying for by the way…lol). And to think, all of this was made possible by a little Catholic nun Mother Ursula who was an educator, a visionary, and an innovator — and who wouldn’t take no for an answer when the archbishop initially declined her request to create a college.
And now Jessica starts her own Cabrini journey. After we visited her dorm, took her to lunch & shopping, and said our goodbyes, I sat for a while outside Woodcrest by myself where I asked a group of freshmen girls to take my photo.
As I was sitting there reflecting on the past 25 years, Jess came walking up the hill from Xavier and sat next to me. I started to tear up when I told her how proud I was of her, how much she is going to love Cabrini, how she is going to meet lifelong friends here and see them get married & have kids, that this is going to change her life just like it did for me. I’m so happy she chose Cabrini and I look forward to watching her grow and thrive ????
#classof2023
#cabrinicavaliers
Hollie,
I’m delighted to see your reflections here! Yes, a trip to campus for any alum today will inevitably provoke memories of how things have changed and yet, as you know well, the Spirit of Cabrini remains! I was glad to see you mention the faculty members and others who shaped us — and some of those faculty are still very active and known to undergrads today.
Hmmm… maybe Loquitor will invite you to shore more of your memories adn how they connect to today!
ms Havens how many times have you heard i hate this school from your classmates…i read your article i wondered if the story teller with her praise of how cabrini made her the person she is today if she also as a 18 year old would shout i hate this school……….