As another school year winds down and students prepare for the summer, they also reflect on the things that happened this year, what they will are looking forward to next year, and the ways they’ve grown since August.
When asked about his favorite memory from this year, The Xavierite Opinions Editor, James Cantu, said, “I have a lot of great and diverse memories [from this year], it’d be hard ranking them against each other.”
“But one that never fails to make smile is remembering when I was playing the card game “Taboo” and convinced a group of people on my service trip to a Jerusalem farm that I was 25 (I’m not) and that I can braid hair.”
Meanwhile, the President of the Residence Halls Association Executive Board, Eli Morales, said, “My favorite memory of this year is more of a collection of times that our students have all come together so that their voices can be heard.”
“Whether it was for a demonstration, a petition, or even meetings, it moves my heart that staff and faculty have helped our students grow and shape them to embody our mission statement.”
Resident Peer Academic Leader (RPAL), Tajah Thomas, says her best memory from this year was going on the fall Awakenings retreat with Campus Ministry and “finding a new community and family.”
Yet the memories that are made often come from students attending the different events on campus.
One of these events was a Race and Justice Education and Action program, Feminism Across Cultures, which focused on the concept of feminism within different societies.
For Thomas, this was the one event that stood out to her the most. “I felt like the talk opened my eyes to new concepts and helped me to find an identity better suited to my beliefs,” Thomas explained. “The panel told great stories and I felt like this was the best representation of what SXU wants its culture to be.”
Cantu, on the other hand, said he really enjoyed the SXU Annual Health Fair that took place in January.
“The health fair was rad,” Cantu said. “I got my diet analyzed based on what I had for breakfast, and got told I need to eat more potassium and protein. So there’s that.”
Even with all the different things students enjoyed most at SXU this year, the one thing they all agreed on was that they have grown since the start of the year.
Thomas says the newfound leadership roles she had this year helped change her perspective.
“Being an RPAL and a Cougar Peer Educator (CPE), I think I’ve grown a lot,” Thomas reflected. “I’ve become an advocate for some of the first years on my floor, I’ve learned how to prioritize and communicate better (namely with my professors and supervisors).”
“I definitely have a lot more confidence walking around campus than I did coming in as a first year,” Thomas added.
As for Cantu, he says, “I’ve learned to grow into myself more. I’m starting to gain a solid understanding of who I am as a person, and how the situations I chose to place myself in affect who I am as a person. Hopefully I’ll continue to make smart choices and continue to learn and grow as a person for the next three years and beyond.”
Cheyanne daniels
News Editor