BY ANDREW KRUSZKA, STAFF WRITER
Well, St. Bonaventure. As I started thinking about what the 32nd article I’ve written for the Bona Venture would be about, my editor had informed me that this very well could be the last article I write for this school.
Although I began to get a little choked up by this, I realized that there was only one thing to do. I’ll give thanks to this paper, and more importantly, the University I’ve called home for my college experience.
I’ve talked to friends over the years, and they’ve told me that I loved this place so much that I decided to come here not once but twice. If you don’t understand that joke, it’s actually a true statement. I started as a student here at St. Bonaventure in August of 2018. I was a journalism and mass communications major and thought that writing for a paper was going to be something I would do for the rest of my life. Well, I was wrong. After one semester here, I decided to transfer to SUNY Fredonia and pursue becoming a social studies teacher. Yet after one semester there, it finally hit me where my home actually was. That is and was at St. Bonaventure University.
We can sit here and say that the tuition is too high, the food is terrible, and probably sit here and complain about many other things, the sidewalks during winter, of course. Something I’ve realized, though, that as I close the book on this chapter of my life, how much fun I’ve had here. I’ve realized how much I’ve learned and grown as an individual that I truly believe is ready to make a difference in this world.
It’s at these moments that I think we need to truly look back and comprehend the amount of hard work and fun we have endured over the last four years. Even if you took a different route, like choosing to come here twice, or better yet, getting sent home because it’s 2020, and they decided to throw a pandemic our way.
But we made it. Isn’t that something to be proud about?
So as I sit here and write what very well could be my last article ever at this school, I would like to give my thanks to a multitude of different people and aspects of St. Bonaventure University that have truly made a difference in my life. The list might be long, but the memories will last a lifetime and beyond.
First, thank you to all the faculty and staff that have made this possible. To the professors, and different staff that help make this University continue to thrive. Specifically, thank you to the School of Education and the History department for allowing us students to strive to be extraordinary here at St. Bonaventure University.
Thank you to the incredible library staff for allowing me to have a job on campus and for always supporting me and my career. Thank you to the friars for keeping our Franciscan values at an all-time high and keeping our University intact.
Thank you to all of the students, including my loyal readers that probably don’t agree with every one of my opinions, but they still enjoy them. I hear your voice, and I’m glad you can hear mine.
Specifically, thank you to my close friends here on campus, to name a few, the people I live with: Frankie Van Sickle, Erica Gustafson, Branden Myers and Bobbie Fragale. Also, thank you to Harry Romesburg III and Nathan DaSilva, along with many others that have truly made my life here at St. Bonaventure so much fun and exciting. We may not be allowed to admit some memories, but we can still cherish them.
A huge shout-out should definitely be given to my support staff at home with my mom, dad and four older brothers. Without them, I truly don’t know where I’d be. They’ve been my staple for so very long and have allowed me to grow into a functioning and consistently positive young man. Last but not least, thank you to St. Bonaventure University. Without you, I would still be looking for a place where I feel at home.
I’ll close with this. I’ve told all of my students this quote while student teaching. “Remember to smile, also be awesome. We need people in this world to change it for the better. You can’t do that unless you’re awesome. Remember to be awesome! Reach for the stars because if you don’t grab them, you’re on top of the world. The skies the limit.” Thank you, St. Bonaventure. May God continue to bless this University and the people that allow for it to continue. This is not a goodbye, but simply a chapter that has come to a close.
