As this semester draws to a close, so does my time at UMass Boston. I have been a student with the university since the summer of 2017, and I have encountered a lot of students and professors along the way, with most of whom I have wonderful memories. Most of the students who started at the same time as I have are either in the last year of their studies or have already graduated in the previous graduating class or sooner than that. My experience is unlike any other, where I took my first major core class before formally being accepted into the university three years ago. I had been a transfer student from Bunker Hill Community College, in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston, so I had been quite familiar with the city already. But, I had initially no plans to attend UMass Boston for about a year after graduating from my previous school.

In November of 2016, I had attended a transfer fair to gain some insight into what UMass Boston had to offer. I am glad that I went to that event because I knew that I wanted to earn a bachelor’s degree, and the transfer fair ignited my passion for continuing my education. By the Spring of 2017, after looking at several universities for a program that looked interesting, I finally made a solid decision by reaching out to the admissions office to start the process of attending UMass Boston. After going through some paperwork and fees, I was on the way to start my academic career. However, I had to pick a major and at least one class to find out if UMass Boston was really for me. So, I sat down with an advisor in the University Advising Center, and they were outstanding in helping me find a 100-level course in a major that I found to be interesting. Within an hour or so, I was officially enrolled in my first course for the Summer 2017 session, which was Introduction to Communication (COMM 100), as my major was about to be declared as Communication later that summer. When I was finishing this course, I was able to attend an Orientation session for transfer students. However, on the same day as the orientation, I ended up taking my final exam for my first course at UMass Boston. On that day, I was proud to pass my course and be formally accepted into the university. From that day forward, I never regretted my decision of attending the university.

In my time at UMass Boston, I have taken classes that I believe have prepared me for post-graduate life in the working world. As a Communication major, I have taken courses that relate to social media, marketing, research, psychology, and writing. Aside from taking courses, I had been involved with The Mass Media on occasion since Spring of 2018 as a contributing writer, mostly for the opinions section. I was briefly involved with Writ Large as well sometime in 2018, as a contributing editor role. Besides being involved with Writ Large or The Mass Media, I had not really been involved in student clubs or activities. However, that all changed when the COVID-19 pandemic started.

In my last year at UMass Boston, I had to adapt to remote learning just like the other students had back in the second half of the Spring 2020 semester. This meant that I would no longer have to commute from home to school, as I had prior to the pandemic. At the same time, I had to find out how to get involved with the campus community, as well as pass my courses through Zoom. Once I got used to using Zoom, I found learning online to be quite simple. After half of a semester of figuring out how to use Zoom for my courses, I decided to finally get involved with the campus community through UMBeinvolved. When the Fall 2020 semester began, I knew I had to take a chance with becoming involved because I knew that it would be my last semester with UMass Boston. So, I decided to go to some of the events and participate in various talks, information sessions, and game nights too. I have to say that I am beyond happy that I was not shy in speaking up in front of my peers when participating in class because I had not done that prior to the pandemic, and this was a way for me to connect with other students in an academic setting. This semester was probably the best one I have ever had while attending UMass Boston. It was sad that I will not have another semester like this again. But I am grateful for all the opportunities I took part in, as well as the friendships I have made while attending the university, whether in person or through Zoom. I wish all of the undergraduate students the best in completing their studies, and I want to personally thank all of my professors for the lessons they have taught me during my time at UMass Boston. I am proud to say that I have made it through my time here, and hope to return to this wonderful university for graduate studies one day. Thank you all!