Since Im sitting in the business school café for the last time, I think this is a better time than any to reflect for a minute, right? I remember the day I got my letter of acceptance to CU, I had just royally failed a calculus exam and cried because I thought my admission was going to be revoked (lesson: grades don’t really matter…). I remember when I learned of the requirements to transfer into the business school and wanted to give up before I ever started, but what I remember more is when I passed business calculus with a B and got accepted into The Leeds School of Business my sophomore year despite the 75% rejection rate. I’ll actually never forget that day.
I remember when I visited Tay in September of 2010 and fell in love with NYC like never before. I remember the inkling I had that I was going to move there and then I sat back and watched as my thoughts grew to words, to actions, to interviews, and finally to my dream internship at Oscar de la Renta by my own account. I packed my bags and moved east to endure some of the best times and lessons of my life.
I remember applying to CU’s American Marketing Association chapter my freshman year and feeling embarrassed and out of place because I was not actually a business student. I remember being so intimidated by Chris Straface, the senior president (who I actually just wanted to date) who seemed so accomplished and professional. I will then never forget being approached two years later to run the club and take over presidency, I was honored. I passed my presidency off last and said a final farewell.
I remember making the personal yet difficult decision not to study abroad my junior year because timing was not right for myself. I then remember the yearning for independence and unfamiliar surroundings once the high from NYC had subsided and began to take steps forward in order to move to London for my senior year. I’ll never forget the moment I stepped off the plane in Heathrow Airport, it was not until that moment that I realized what I had just done: I moved across the world by myself and didn’t know a soul. It was perfect.
My personal growth is immeasurable yet immense. Aside from accomplishments we can write on paper and discuss I have endured growth in myself and that is where the real success lies. For this I thank my strong friendships, my incredible family, the challenges, the questionable times, the deep heartbreak, the renewed strength, and the opportunities I have been given- for all of this, I am unspeakably grateful.
So before I walk to the school office to collect my “Leeds School of Business Alumni” t-shirt, I’m thinking of that Kristie my parents moved into Libby Hall in August of 2009. She’s a world away from where I am, and that is a blessing.
xx
