Born in a suburb of Chicago, moving below the Mason Dixon line to Durham, North Carolina was a big change for me when I was eleven. People were smiling at me when I passed them on the street and greeting my family and I saying “How y’all doing?” I remember thinking that if all the people here were this friendly I would never want to leave. More or less that turned out to be the case, within months I was falling in love the loblolly pines, bright blue sky, and twisting creeks. It took a little bit longer to get used to the humidity and sweet tea but before long I felt more at home than ever and started to consider myself a southerner.
High school came and I was to attend Cardinal Gibbons all the way in my new state’s capital, Raleigh. Something about that morning drive east on I-40 put me at ease and readied me to take on the day. After making new friends, I soon realized the boundless opportunities for fun Raleigh had to offer. After school got out and on weekends I was soaking up every drop I could manage to get my hands on. My soon to be college roommates had lived here their whole lives and showed me everything from museums to forests, lakes, and the best places to get ice cream. At the end of junior year all my classmates were getting hyped and anxious about applying to college. I had been having so much fun in Raleigh I couldn’t imagine liking any place better. With the more times I came down Hillsborough Street for off-campus lunch, the more and more I fell in love with North Carolina State University.
Four years later, with the assignment of writing my first bio blog for the Office of Undergraduate Admissions I can smile, knowing that I made a most excellent decision. I couldn’t be happier. I got involved with club sports, Greek life, Poole College of Management ambassadors, and now am meeting a great group of new interns for my junior year. I’ve made countless new friends while having the luxury to keep up with my old ones. I know more about Raleigh now than I ever thought possible and love showing my out-of-state friends all the best restaurants and attractions downtown. I now stay outside all afternoon in the hot sun and thrive on sweet tea. I consider myself a successful transfer Carolinian and would never dream of having it any other way.