As I approach my senior year at Ohio University, I’m preparing to take on the bittersweet challenges of completing my BSN degree. Last clinicals, last classes, last late nights at Alden and last 5:00 AM carpools to the hospital with my best friends on campus. As much as I struggled and clawed my way to a passing grade (and trust me that is not an exaggeration as many of my friends will tell you!), I can look back and say with total confidence that I am grateful for what it taught me and how it helped me to grow into the person I am today. There is no secret to acing your classes nor is there a perfect way to balance college life; but I know I wouldn’t be here today without the support of the ADPI women getting their nursing degree right alongside me.
I am so fortunate to be a part of such an incredible group of women in ADPI. I get the opportunity to be a part of something bigger than myself and to give back to those in need all while making memories with some of my best friends. Going from the fun of sorority life to the stress of school can be tough, but having sisters with the same major makes the books seem a little lighter and makes the lectures go by a little faster! As I got further along in my college career, I had to learn that there are some things you just can’t do without a little help. At times when my classes became seemingly impossible, and I lost confidence in myself, I knew I wasn’t alone. Not only did I have a whole family of sisters to support me, but I had my own little group of girls within ADPI who could understand and share my struggle.
I remember times when I would trudge up the stairs of the ADPI house to my room after the most exhausting and disappointing day. Scrubs on, stethoscope around my neck, starving and carrying my entire life on my back. I needed a shoulder to cry on and some serious advice to keep me going, and Brittany Guarasci was always just one room away. Brittany was a year ahead of me in nursing and was one of my biggest cheerleaders. She would give me a big hug, listen to what I had to say, and give her best advice and encouragement, ending with, “You can do it!”. I will always be grateful for ADPI for giving me such an amazing sister and an even better role model.
Having someone to look up to both in ADPI and in my major meant so much to me, but having the support of sisters in the same classes is an experience I wouldn’t trade for the world. Two of my best friends in my sorority, Maddie Linz and Lizzie Szabo, are nothing short of everything I could ask for in a friend and fellow nursing student. They can make a three hour lecture about the nervous system fly by watching the newest tik tok dance during the break or talking about what we’re wearing to the date party coming up. We’re there to celebrate with each other after finishing a week full of tests and there for support when the workload is too much to carry on our own. Having sisters in the same major means I’ll always have an extra hand and someone who understands me when I can’t put struggle into words. Getting pied in the face for our Pie-a-Pi fundraiser and then going straight to practice an IV with leftover whipped cream in my hair is a memory that will always make me laugh. Coming home exhausted after clinicals, yet finding the strength to put on our cutest outfits for a social are some of my favorite memories. Bouncing between chapter and study group on a Sunday night is all too familiar to us, but something we’ll miss after our time here at OU. There is nothing quite as special as having your sorority sisters double as your classmates, and I cannot thank Ohio University enough for exactly that.