By Sarah Ardolino:
“I am nervous to graduate, but mostly excited. I feel ready to move on, said Trisha Sliney, a senior at Assumption College. The 2019 graduation ceremony is on May 12th 2019. “I know I am really going to be nostalgic for my time here, but I’m excited to celebrate my accomplishment with my friends at senior week, and with my family at the graduation ceremony.” Sliney is not the only fourth year student who has mixed feeling about graduating. Jose Garcia, a California native Assumption College senior, said “I am excited for graduation just because I have worked very hard over the last four years to get here, but I do not like hearing people talk about it because it reminds me that I will not see my friends as often after grad.”
Before the two dress up in cap and gown, Sliney and Garcia are taking these last few days to enjoy their final hours at Assumption and reflect on their time there. Sliney was a second semester sophomore year transfer student from a small college in Florida while Garcia has spent all four of his academic years at Assumption. However, both are proud to call Assumption College their alma mater. “I will remember it as a place that has given many opportunities and has really helped me grow in the best ways, Sliney said. “I am grateful for all of my friends and professors, and I’ll look back on these past few years with fondness.”
Both fourth-year students are involved with different activities and clubs on campus, but both are enjoying senior specific courses and internships. As an English and Mass Communications major at Assumption, Sliney is responsible for taking a senior English Practicum course that involves an internship at a place of her choosing. Three times a week, she heads over to Girls. Inc. of Worcester, MA, which is a local non-profit organization. At Girls Inc., she helps the organization’s marketing and communications department. This includes creating flyers, social media posts, press releases, and invitations to events. Sliney loves attending her internship and the experience and opportunities it provides.
Garcia is currently wrapping up his senior seminar course at Clark University. Every Wednesday, he Ubers to the university to take the senior class, which focuses on U.S. and Latin America Relations. As a triple major in Political Science, History, and Spanish, Garcia enjoys his specific senior seminar course that incorporates all his studies from the past four years.
Looking back at her time at Assumption College, Sliney said that her fondest moment was studying abroad spring semester during her junior year in 2018. She spent four months at the school’s campus in Rome, Italy. She describes her semester abroad as a ‘highlight’ in her career at Assumption. While in Europe, Sliney traveled to Spain, France, England, Ireland and Greece, all while experiencing the food and culture each country offered her.
Garcia’s favorite memory at Assumption stems from a stuffed horse he bought on sale a few months back. He decided to name the horse Betsy and bring her with him to a lot of the school’s student events. “I bought the stuffed horse as a joke at first and would have never thought she gained that much popularity around school. Instagram @Betsy_6S.” Traditionally every year at the end of April, two Assumption College seniors pretend to get married outside Moquin Hall. The wedding is a huge celebration of the seniors and everything they accomplished in the past four years. It is sort of like a “we made it” celebration. Garcia brought Betsy to the wedding and will remember the ceremony as one of the best times he had at Assumption. “I had the honor to be the ring bearer with my stuffed horse named Betsy. It was something that coming here four years ago, I would had never even known of something called the ‘Valley Wedding’, or that I would even own a stuffed horse.”
An additional pro of being a senior at Assumption College is finally being able to live with all your fellow peers in ‘The Valley’, which is where the majority of seniors decide to live their final year at school. Both Garcia and Sliney elected to live in senior housing for their senior year. Garcia lives in a six-person apartment in Authier Hall and Sliney lives in a five-person apartment in Moquin Hall. “I love living down there, it is a great environment surrounded by many of my friends and other peers in my class. The only downside is that it is not the nicest place to live on campus, but the environment really makes up for it,” said Garcia. “I have met many new people this year from living where I do. Senior Housing is awesome, as many of us that live down there have the same emotions and thoughts about the future since we are seniors.” Sliney agrees with Garcia. She said, “I enjoy [senior housing] because I get to be close to all of my fellow seniors, which is fun.”
For Sliney, the best part about being a senior is spending final moments with roommates and friends. “I’ve really enjoyed savoring each moment with all of my friends, taking everything in knowing this is my last trip around the sun at Assumption.” For Garcia, “my favorite thing about being a senior would have to be that I pretty much know majority of people in my class, as well as a lot of faculty. Something else is having my friends in my classes, and being able to enjoy having a fun time in class more, because discussion tend to be much better since mostly everyone knows each other.”
As for plans for the future, both seniors have plans that are up in the air. Sliney said, “The past four years have kind of been a security blanket for me. I’ve known roughly what my future was going to look like up until this point, but now it’s a little less certain. I’m not sure exactly what I want to be doing yet, but I feel like I have a lot of options which makes me feel better.” Garcia is planning to return to Los Angles for the summer and has applied to internships. He is also waiting to hear back from a few graduate schools. Despite not having a definite plan for the future directly after graduation, Garcia is excited for what life after Assumption has to offer. “My post-grad feeling is feeling very positive knowing that Assumption has provided me a good liberal arts education. I am ready to leave Assumption, four years has been nice, but it is time for a change of scenery in my life.”
Congratulations to Garcia, Sliney, and the Class of 2019! Here’s to all the success and happiness the world has to offer post college graduation!
THE AC301 