Looking Back: What has UM done for you this year?

What has UM done for you personally and academically this academic year? What does UM mean to you? 

Junior Tiffany Ford: UM has opened its doors for me. I didn’t realize how many resources were available for me to use freely on campus and now is when I’m finally taking advantage of them. We have so much assistance here. I feel like the different organizations on campus have helped me make a lot of friends. Because of the relationships I have built with people, I have been able to adjust well.

Junior Ariana Salmon: This academic year at UM, I have faced several challenges and learned from them. These challenges came from all of my professors and mentors. They have brought me to learn more about myself and have reassured me even more of my career path. I am happy to have chosen to become a cane.

Junior Curie Villarson: I learned what true friendship is and I learned that not everyone has your best interest in mind. It has made me stronger and aware. Academically, I just wish you could do more things outside of your major. I haven’t been able to explore many other options that I would want to.

Sophomore Jeffrey Julius: UM has been a difficult year for me, but personally I have had a pretty good year. As a commuter it’s always difficult to get here at the right time so it has been a struggle to develop relationships. You really have to be involved with others and go out of your way to make your relationships. However, being an aerospace major is interesting and really fun, but a whole bunch of work.

Junior Connie Fossi:  The value of this education is priceless. On a personal level I have grown enormously because my visions and dreams have turned into a reality. I have been able to meet people from different backgrounds and this is one of the only universities that give you these opportunities. Since I came from another country and I’m here without my parents or family, UM is home for me.

Senior Patrick John Davies: This past year at the U is my last year and it has been my best year yet. I have always been interested in electronics and I pursued it intently on my own, but it has only been recently with my recent course load that I have been able to explore this passion in an academic capacity. Now I am even more motivated as a student, because I am now able to use my skills to build medical devices, and even instruments for the lab and med campus.

Junior Esther Pang: After being at the U for three years, I have to say this year has been one of the best. Even though classes got harder and it was more difficult trying to fit commitments, work and relaxing into a packed schedule, I got to go on several trips around the country because of classes and clubs I’m involved in. And, the trips were subsidized by the school. Being an international student with only four years to explore the states and a college kid budget, I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunities UM gave me to travel.  I also got to meet so many cool people and find new friends every semester.

Freshman Christina Deguer: This was my first semester at the U and it was better than I expected. I met a lot of people, some of whom I became really close friends with. Also, I am interested in TV production and I was able to join UMTV and loved it. I was able to work in a real studio and get experience.

Junior Cristian Benavides: The U has been extremely generous and an amazing experience for me. Every day I walk through the halls at the U and there is nowhere else I’d rather be. Even though I do spend most of my time editing videos and getting little sleep – I know at the end it’s all worth it. The school makes it a great environment so you can socialize by the pool and trampoline in the morning, and study late at Richter by night. It’s great.

Senior Elie Nehme: Being 19 years old, a transfer student and taking twenty credits a semester is quite a struggle, but this year has been a very memorable year. I have learned a lot in the medical field. Being the President of OASIS, I was able to make new relationships and meet a lot of new people. It’s been the two most intense years of my life so far because although I have studied, I have made time to have a lot of fun and enjoy myself. I learned how to be on my own and it was difficult, but I learned quickly. UM is an awesome university. I have met very smart and interesting people. I really enjoy living on campus at the UV because I have privacy, but I have friends at the same time. I am very proud to call UM my university. Basically, UM is the shit.

Junior Nicholas Ley: Personally, it has been amazing. I have met the most amazing boy in the world. Academically, I am getting my bearings and I am ready with an attack strategy for senior year. But, I am excited to almost be out in the real world. UM to me is continuing a legacy. Both my parents came here and it has changed a lot since they’ve been here, but I still feel their presence. Even though my dad was an offensive linemen for the football team and I’m in the theater department studying acting, I’m carrying out my family tradition.

Senior Kimberly Reyes: I recently got a full time job thanks to the speakers that the Institute of Industrial Engineers put on. I will start this summer. UM is a great place to live, hang out and go to school. I love it here. To me, UM has been my life for the last four years. This is it for me and I will be a proud graduate.

Senior Daniel Coward: I have grown in a lot of different ways. One of the coolest things is looking back on it. It’s not a conscious thing, it just happens. Then by the time you graduate you really look back on it. I have found that I have the ability to multitask like crazy this and I realized it a little late. UM is home by now. I spent four years here. I live here, my friends are here. I don’t know anyone who can be a senior and not claim that UM is home.

Senior Ainslee Jacoby: Being born and raised in New York poses somewhat of a problem when it comes to living outside the state. I never thought I’d live anywhere else, but I chose to come to Miami on a whim and haven’t regretted a day of it. The people, weather, culture, etc., are a completely different world than the rest of the U.S. and being able to experience all of it gave me the courage to go abroad my junior year and consider applying for jobs all around the country. Miami, if you will, is a gateway city, and I’ll miss it when I’m gone.

Senior Jonathan Yunes: There’s no other place to spend the best four years of your life.  Even the weather is like living a fake life. What else is there to say besides it’s Miami?