Where has the time gone?

USD juniors’ reflections on their senior year

Anna Valaik / Asst. A&C Editor / The USD Vista

Time flies in college, especially when it’s packed with busy classes, internships, social events, sports games, and friends to enjoy it all with. One day it’s the first year, and the next it’s somehow senior year, and college is about to come to a close. As the USD juniors soon finish finals and approach their senior year, The USD Vista wanted to gain insight into this impending and exciting transition. 

Junior Allison Abrams, a marketing major with both an international business and real estate minor, has many expectations for her senior year.

“I’m really looking forward to hopefully being back on campus for senior year and just seeing everyone that I haven’t seen in so long,” Abrams noted. “I always loved being on campus freshman and sophomore year and just running into people in La Paloma or the SLP between classes.”

Abrams felt as though her time at USD was both long and short. She remarked that it felt like just yesterday she was a first-year living in Valley B. However, she also felt that the pandemic disrupted her sense of time, making those long-ago memories feel much more recent. This made her more appreciative and hopeful for her final year.

“It doesn’t feel real to be a senior and I’m not ready to graduate quite yet, I’m really going to cherish my last year at USD as well as all the unique experiences that come with being in college,” Abrams said.

Abrams was grateful to have the experience of living in the dorms during her first year. 

“Even though it’s obviously nice to not be living in a little box with a twin bed nowadays, those were when some of the most funny memories happened,” Abrams said. “I think living in the dorms is a unique experience that everyone should have because it’s rare that you’re surrounded by people in the exact same stage of life as you and doing the same things.”

As she looked back on her first-year self, recalling those memories, she noted one piece of advice she would’ve given herself back then.

“As cheesy as it sounds, I think the best piece of advice I would give to my freshman year self is to really be in the moment,” Abrams reflected. “We spend so much of our lives looking forward and thinking about the next step but it’s important to really cherish what you have while you have it.”

Living in the moment and enjoying his time was something junior Ethan Newcomb, a biology major with both a chemistry and Spanish minor, noted, as well. 

“I do think that my time at USD feels short, mainly because I’ve enjoyed it so much, and life definitely passes quicker when you’re having a good time,” Newcomb said. “However, it does feel real to be a senior, mainly because the classes truly get harder and harder.”

In his senior year, Newcomb can’t wait to see the USD campus and community again. He even hopes for an in-person graduation ceremony.

Just like Abrams, Newcomb often looks back on his first year with fondness. As a member of Phi Kappa Theta, Newcomb loved the Fraternity Sorority Life (FSL) events. 

“My favorite USD memory has to be Greek Week when I was a freshman,” Newcomb said. “It was such an awesome experience to grow so close with the sorority that we were paired with, which was Alpha Chi Omega.”

Newcomb especially enjoyed the friendly competition with the other Greek life organizations, and said showing off his dance moves was definitely the highlight of this event. Even though Newcomb participates in USD clubs and organizations, he would tell his first year self to get even more involved.

“I would tell my freshman self not to be afraid to join clubs,” Newcomb said. “Aside from joining Greek Life, clubs are a great way to meet other students that have similar interests.”

Junior Maggie Valaik, a business administration major with a law and ethics minor, is itching to get back onto campus.

“One thing I’m really looking forward to is being back on campus (hopefully) and enjoying my last year of classes on our beautiful campus with my USD classmates,” Valaik said. “I miss walking in and out of Olin and saying ‘hi’ to 30 people in passing all within two minutes.”

However, Valaik can hardly believe she is a senior and that those funny moments at Olin are coming to a close somewhat soon.

“College went by so quickly. It doesn’t feel real that we are rising seniors.” Valaik shared.

Valaik’s time at USD was also  greatly affected by COVID-19.

“We were honestly robbed of some of our college experience due to COVID, but regardless freshman and sophomore year flew by,” Valaik said. “I remember being in elementary school and never thinking I’d make it to 8th grade, let alone senior year of college.”

For this reason, she urges incoming first-years to make the most of their years in school, enjoying all the good and even the bad that comes with it.

“The fun quirks that make USD so special are what I’ll miss most, so relish it all,” Valaik shared. “Enjoy the long lines at the SLP and Tu Merc, embrace your Sunday scaries studying in Copley or the law library for hours on end, embrace the run-ins with people you do not want to see on our small campus, bask in the sun on the lawn, and make every relationship with your classmates and professors last.”

Valaik felt that USD was defined by those small moments, and that’s why she struggled to come up one with just one favorite recollection of college.

“I don’t think I can choose just one memory, but all the little things — I love walking to and from my classes, because our campus is unreal,” Valaik noted.

However, one thing did stand out.

“I have very fond memories of my freshman year LLC course,” Valaik recalled. “I had World Religions with Environmental Concern with Professor Lance Nelson and loved the diverse group of people in my class.”

Similar to his fellow classmates, junior Colin Allison, an English major, is counting down the days till USD gets back on campus.

“Something about returning to the campus that we all left two and a half semesters ago, in an official capacity, is different and exciting,” Allison remarked. “I think we all just want to remember what that feels like before our four years expire.”

He noted the past online semesters have felt quite seamless and indistinct from one another. However, Allison also can’t believe senior year is right around the corner. 

“I am still in denial about finishing my junior year of college and becoming a senior next year,” Allison said. “That’s just indescribable and strange.”

Allison described how odd entering senior year feels. 

“It sort of feels like I never stopped being a second-semester sophomore, but now I’m being told I’m a senior,” Allison noted. “Time is just so befuddling.”

However, it didn’t take long for Allison to recall classes and memories from freshman year. Many of them have stuck with him for his entire college career. 

“I am exceedingly grateful for my academic advisor, Professor Melekian, for helping me from the very first LLC class I had with him, despite my initial overeager freshman energy,” Allison said.

He made it clear that the people at USD are what makes this place different from anywhere else. Over his time at USD, he has found community within countless organizations and groups on campus.

“I am just so grateful for all of the people I’ve met,” Allison shared. “Whether this be friends from freshman year in Camino Hall, the fantastic people in the English and music departments (staff and students alike), or the home I’ve found in the Writing Center, it’s just difficult to not value them in the same light.”

To Allison, they are all equally important and special to his time at USD, and he’s noticed this sentimentality even more so during online classes.

“It seems being at home and away from the vibrant, academic ecosystem that USD is can truly make one extra sentimental in a time of forced physical distance,” Allison said.

Allison also reflected on how much finding his own, unique community made college that much better.

“I’m no stranger to moving schools and meeting new people, but I remember feeling disconnected from the USD campus because of how off-put I was by the stereotypical USD student I assumed most people were,” Allison said.

However, he soon felt reassured in his decision to attend USD when he found his group, something he urges all first years to seek out.

“I think, overall, there is always going to be a group of people in any given place that you are going to feel disconnected from, but there is also always going to be a group of people that becomes ‘yours’ and that’s a beautiful thing,” Allison remarked. “I believe this is also me just saying I wish I found the Writing Center earlier.”

All in all, as the semester comes to a close and USD students naturally move up in the ranks, it’s inevitable that the juniors will have mixed feelings about entering their senior year. Many are nostalgic for the past, but also equally excited for what’s to come in their final year at this beautiful university. If it’s anything like their past three years in San Diego, it will most definitely be unforgettable.