Gonzaga Witness

Issue date: 10/1/09 Section: Faith

It is extremely difficult for me to put into words what my "Gonzaga experience" has meant to me. Since graduating only a short few months ago I often find myself daydreaming about places on campus and the people who I met throughout my four years in Spokane. I would be lying to you if I told you that Gonzaga did not change who I am since the moment I first stepped on the grass outside of Desmet in August of 2005. The journey has not always been a joyous one either as I certainly had my fair share of downfalls and shortcomings as a student. But do you know what? I would not change a darn thing. It is because of those conflicts and times when I hit rock bottom that I gained perspective. Those times were priceless learning experiences that I will forever value.
My favorite ingredient about Gonzaga was not the 2 a.m. Taco Bells runs. It was not waiting countless hours in line to get into a basketball game only so I could take my shirt off and have my chest painted with a handful of my best friends. It wasn't even the summer I spent abroad in Europe during the summer of 2007. It was none of these wonderful memories. What made my GU experience were simply the people. That's it. It is the people who you see each day on campus. I am forever in debted to the friends I have made at Gonzaga. I will carry these people with me for the rest of my life. These people are the ones I hope to live on the same block with, the ones I can call any time of day to just talk, and the ones who will be standing next to me on my wedding day. I am not just talking about the people who are your neighbors in the dorms or in the Logan neighborhood (however, I am sure they are wonderful too). It is the faces that greeted me as I walked into University Ministry office in Crosby, the Jesuits who would stop me on my way to class and ask me how I was doing because they genuinely care, and it was the rest of the faculty and administration that I interacted with around campus. Tell me where you will find anywhere in the world another Sister Laura, Fr. Gary, or Susie Prusch and I am all ears. The list goes on and on and on. Ask any student and I am sure he or she will be able to rattle off a few names of those for whom he or she is grateful as well. I cannot even begin to tell you about friendships formed with other fellow Zags. The conversations, the foreign travels shared together, and the pitchers shared will rest fondly in my mind. The students who roam this place are those to whom I owe the most for my growth in my faith life at Gonzaga.

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