By: Van Cathcart III
When I arrived at this university in Fall of 2016, I had no intention of staying here. My eyes were looking forward to greener pastures at another school. Auburn University at Montgomery was supposed to be a steppingstone for me, but it ended up being the perfect place for me to be. People say that everything happens for a reason, and if you would’ve told me that after my first semester after finishing with a 1.7 grade point average, I might have given you some choice words. I didn’t realize I needed the wake-up call that I was handed. High school hadn’t prepared me for what the life that I was handed in the North Commons. I was an 18-year-old kid that wasn’t ready for the freedom and independence that AUM offered me. Four hours away from my parents, who made sure I had perfect attendance throughout high school. Nobody made me get up to go to class, even though it was a five-minute walk from my room.
That wake-up call came at the end of my freshman year when I realized that I wasn’t going to transfer out of AUM like I hoped I would. Little did I know I was already exactly where I was supposed to be. After my sophomore year, I changed majors to become a Communication Major. I never had any idea what I was going to do with my life, and it wasn’t until I was a part of the Communication department that I realized I had a love and found happiness in producing and editing videos and creating media. For the first time in my life, I had a passion for something other than playing sports for the rest of my life.
The professors and staff in the Communication department did everything in their power to make sure that I was on track and stayed there. Nobody gave up on me. Everyone I ever had the pleasure to interact at AUM has always been more than helpful and helped me get to where I am now.
It’s 2022 and I’m about to graduated, I’ll let you do the math on that. I took the scenic route and I’ll forever be grateful that I did. I got my degree on my own time and AUM stood by me every step of the way. Thank you Warhawks.