Wow Cougars! Congratulations on completing yet another year towards achieving your goals. I
hope all of you had an amazing 2024–2025 school year!
For freshman Cougars, it’s the first year
of many to come. Saint Xavier University continues to be an amazing environment to build new
relationships and experiences.
As we reach the final week of the school year, students are now in their final stretch of
completing finals.
During this time, students reflect on how much work they have put into their
courses from this year.
Students have gone through their ups and downs but continue to come out
even stronger than how they came in.
Looking at all their hard work at the end of the school year
helps students keep pushing towards their goals and finishing off strong to continue pursuing
their major and future.
After interviewing two SXU freshman students, they were able to provide their honest and real
reflections on their first year of college.
As students came walking in, fearful of not knowing what to expect, they were welcomed by the
support from the staff at Saint Xavier during their first couple of months at the University.
Byhaving events like ‘Cougar Trax’ and a mandatory course called ‘Transitions,’ freshmen were
also able to get to know the community of Saint Xavier and the campus a little better.
After talking to a current SXU freshman student who graduated early from Harold L. Richards
High School and Oak Lawn resident, Gianna Lejawa, shared her experience as a freshman
majoring in nursing.
Gianna states, “I feel like my first year was difficult during the first semester since I had taken a
semester off school, then summer, and then starting again. So getting back into everything was a
little hard and overwhelming.”
While other freshmen may not have had similar experiences walking into Saint Xavier, most
students overcame their hardships in the first couple of months and started to learn how much the
SXU student community can come together to make the campus an enjoyable place to further
their education.
After further talking to Gianna about her experience, she shared how she felt later in the school
year after finishing her finals.
“I would definitely say that there are a ton of opportunities, sports games, thrift pop-ups, clubs
and activities to do however it is still overwhelming. I personally have found it hard to connect
with people outside of class since 90% of them are commuters and still have a job, or are in a
sport or live 45 minutes away.
From my experience the staff and teachers have all been amazing
and extremely helpful, it seems like they all just want us to succeed and try our best,” said
Gianna, a current freshman at SXU.
One thing about Saint Xavier is that they are always going to find ways to try and include
everyone. The campus strives for diversity, wants students to succeed all year round, and focuses
on building relationships.
They provide students with many resources during the school year and
host events to make the campus fun and enjoyable.
The university offers SXU students a beautiful campus where they can either finish homework or hang out with friends to study in between or after classes. While some students may enjoy the campus or activities, others may not.
A freshman student, Jaiden Rodriguez, who is a Burbank resident and undecided major student,
stated, “Saint Xavier is great on education, but uneventful. Some might even say it’s missing the
college experience. For me, it felt exactly like high school, no change.”
As previously mentioned by another student, Gianna Lejawa, some students find it difficult to
build relationships on campus. While some students may already know one another, others find it
harder to build relationships as commuters.
After further discussing some of the SXU campus events with Jaiden, he says, “To be honest I
never knew of on campus events because it was never promoted. I did attend a vinyl pop up
event and thrift shop but it was because I got an email. It’s not like high school where you’re
constantly getting reminded of events.
A friend of mine also attended a school event but it’s because she saw a flyer on the wall.”
While every student may have a different experience, they all came to the conclusion that they
enjoyed their first year at Saint Xavier.
Between school events and building relationships with professors and other colleagues, students found themselves proud of what they accomplished and experienced during the 2024–2025 school year.
Saint Xavier University continues to build a community strong enough to attract even more
future Cougars. Have a great summer!
By Natalia Landeros