Dear students,
As we approach Alumni Weekend, I approach my own alumna status. Four years have flown by faster than I imagined. Yes, everyone says this, but everyone is correct. Senior seminars, capstones, and thesis writing were things I used to push aside as future concerns, but they are now part of my daily life. While I am looking forward to crossing the stage and venturing out to new worlds, being an alumna will certainly feel strange at first.
Freshmen, I hope you took Sarah’s and my advice and decided to try new things and lean into change. Maybe you joined a new club, maybe you tried out a sport or hobby, maybe you took a class outside of your major. Did you fail? If you did, you probably succeeded without realizing. Your years at Rollins are short, much shorter than you might think, and taking advantage of being able to fail is not something you can find everywhere. If I hadn’t allowed myself to try something new (and possibly fail), I would not have gained the experience I have today, whether that be in leadership, academics, or even personal growth. So, perhaps change is the key to growing as a college student.
Seniors, how are you feeling? Scared? I certainly am. The day we become alumni will change our relationship with Rollins, and with it more change is sure to come. However, while most of us are afraid of that word, I think change is something important to learn. We might not get to soak up the sun on Mills Lawn, attend our favorite professors’ office hours, or order “Tarpotle” as much as we’d like to, but maybe we’ll have new routines to look forward to. It won’t be too long before we begin a Rollins story with “back in college…” so although we have futures to be excited about, we should also enjoy the rest of the semester with that, smaller yet possible, ability to fail. Look forward to Fox Day, take advantage of the proximity of theme parks and the beach, and, for northerners like me, enjoy the weather. Soon enough we will become the target demographic of Alumni Weekend, so let’s make this semester count.
– Paloma Kluger (‘25), Editor-in-Chief
I can’t believe how fast time has flown. I can’t believe that, seemingly just after starting college, I have one more year left. I can still clearly remember the timid me of freshman year, unsure of myself, still learning to stop slinking away from leadership roles. Now, I struggle to fathom how I was ever this version of myself; college has turned me into someone confident, someone who finds motivation from taking on new roles and acting as a guide, especially for people in the same position I was in.
One way I measure my progress in college is through my work at The Sandspur; I’ve worked for The Sandspur for just about as long as I’ve been in college. Looking back, joining the newspaper during the first couple weeks of freshman year was the first step I took toward becoming the confident risk-taker I am today. When I first joined, I was new to journalistic writing and had never conducted a formal interview; needless to say, I was terrified and felt seriously underqualified. Still, I knew I wanted to be involved on campus, and I specifically thought The Sandspur would be the perfect place to apply my passion for writing to a style I was unfamiliar with. Reflecting on my experiences now, this is one of the best decisions I could have made.
Spending the past year as Managing Editor has been such a rewarding experience, and I’ve had the opportunity to witness other staff members grow in positions I was once in. My favorite part about being in a leadership role is getting to mentor others who were in my shoes and who I can empathize with. And after getting to collaborate with both elder and budding Sandspur members this year, I can confidently say that, in the three years I’ve been here, I’ve never worked with a more incredible staff. Looking forward to next year, my final year at Rollins, I cannot wait to watch the paper continue to grow!
– Sarah Ogden (‘26), Managing Editor
Comments are closed.