When my calendar flipped over to the month of May last week, I honestly could not believe it. After four years, my final weeks at Holy Cross had arrived. I have been thinking back over my time on the Hill, walking around campus with nostalgia for my days on Easy Street and wishing that I could turn back time to be at Holy Cross for just a little bit longer.
I have spent a lot of time recently thinking about what I will miss most about Holy Cross. While I feel like I could go on forever about what I will miss about being on the Hill, ranging from my favorite Kimball meals to sunny spring days, what I keep returning to is the strong presence of community on Mount St. James. Everywhere I go on campus in my day to day, while walking to class, rushing to Cool Beans to get coffee, or heading to get food with friends, I always see a friendly face, saying hello, and I feel a connection to the campus community as a whole. Even in spite of the challenges, separation, and distance, the pandemic has caused disrupting campus life, the closeness of community is what I will miss most about being a Holy Cross student.
As I embark on the next chapter of my life, embracing what post-Holy Cross life has to offer, I know that being constantly immersed in this tight knit community will be what I miss most as I move on. In spite of the loss of the immediate connection to Mount St. James, I know that life as an alum will offer a new perspective on connections to Holy Cross, and while I may no longer study and reside on the Hill, I am excited to see what new communities I can find going forward.
I attached a photo from when I first toured Holy Cross in 2017, completely unsure of what the college search would have in store for me. I am so glad that five years later, I am a soon-to-be Holy Cross graduate, and I am so grateful for the community that has shaped me and made me into who I am today.
~Michaela Lake, Class of 2022
