As a senior in high school, Rowan University was never my number one choice. In fact, Rowan failed to crack the top five in my university power rankings. Since grade school, I knew that I wanted to go to a major four-year university in Philadelphia. It seemed like a no-brainer. So, that’s exactly what I did. I got accepted into my dream school, moved into my new dorm, met all the people on my floor and regretted the decision within two weeks.
I consider myself to be an ambitious person. Sometimes that ambition leads you down the right path and other times that ambition forces you to live with a roommate who cackles at Cheers reruns all day. As a person who values privacy and occasional silence, the environment was uncomfortable. I barely got any sleep, the food made me sick, my floormates were obnoxiously loud and the bathroom looked like the ninth circle of Hell. It was a terrible experience and my grades began to suffer. I knew that I couldn’t make it through three more years and decided that it would be best to move closer to home.
When I decided to transfer to Rowan, it felt like a step down. I always wanted to go to my dream university and within a year, I had already tapped-out and gone home. It was hard to not feel like a failure, but that experience taught me a valuable lesson. Sometimes you must experience struggles, before you know what you truly want. As they say in Cheers, “sometimes you want to go where everyone knows your name.” Or in my case, “sometimes you want to go to the university that’s only 20 minutes away from your house.”
As I enter my final semester of college, I am relieved that I decided to transfer to Rowan University. For starters, it’s awesome to go home every night, sleep in your own bed and play with your dog. I thought that I would enjoy the freedom of being on my own, but living at home has its benefits. I have also been extremely impressed with Rowan’s journalism program. It’s refreshing to study a major that you love, while having access to passionate professors who constantly push you to work harder. I have learned so much over my three years and have grown tremendously. This is a beautiful campus with a lot of great people.
Rowan has also provided me w
ith great opportunities. Through my contacts with the university newspaper, I earned a student worker position with Rowan’s Sports Information Department. For the past two years, I have had one of the greatest jobs on campus where I keep statistics for Rowan’s various sports teams. As a sports nut who aspires to be a sportswriter, I couldn’t have asked for a better experience and none of this would have been possible unless I transferred. I’m not someone who is normally big on school pride, but I am Rowan proud. I love this university and it’s disappointing that I only have one more semester here. If I could travel back to my senior year in high school, Rowan University would be my top choice.
Matthew Mizanin
Pine Hill, Camden County
Senior, journalism major
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