Life on the Outside

Cortney Roper ’14

Bio/VMT

Photo provided by Cortney Roper

Photo provided by Cortney Roper

I graduated from Wilson in 2014 with a double major in biology and veterinary medical technology. After graduation, it seems like many graduates want to move out of their college town and move somewhere amazing: New York, LA, etc. I knew that I was going back to school after I graduated, but I never expected to end up in Mississippi of all places. I am currently a first year student at Mississippi State University-College of Veterinary Medicine and I’m pursuing my life-long dream of becoming a veterinarian. It took me two attempts to get into vet school. After the second attempt, I was able to choose between three different schools but I felt that Mississippi State was the best fit for me. In fact, it reminds me a lot of Wilson and life in Mississippi is much different than life in Pennsylvania. It is uncomfortably hot here, people say “yall” and “fixing to” regularly, and unfortunately there are no Sheetz gas stations here.

I am a tour guide at Mississippi State and involved in a variety of different clubs, just as I was at Wilson. On a typical day, I am at school for an average of eight hours and usually have 1 or 2 exams per week. Vet school can be overwhelming at times. There is a lot of information to take in at one time and not nearly enough time in the day to study it all. Quite a few of my classmates at MSU aren’t used to this amount of pressure but so far it hasn’t been any more challenging for me than what I experienced as an undergrad at Wilson.

I believe that Wilson College has greatly prepared me for life in vet school. At Wilson, the professors held me to a high standard, pushed me to my limits, and expected greatness from me. These high expectations pushed me to always strive for excellence and have taught me how to handle myself in high stress situations. These skills have translated over to my life in vet school and have become highly valuable. I am forever grateful for my unforgettable experience at Wilson and for the wonderful professors who have helped mold me into the person I am today.


Shoshana Rudski ’15

Communications

I thought a lot about what to write in my first blurb and all my ideas boiled down to one idea; enjoy your time at Wilson. It will go by fast. Really fast. During my

Photo provided by Shoshana Rudski

Photo provided by Shoshana Rudski

years at Wilson there were happy moments, some downright frustrating moments, and some moments when I questioned if it was the right place for me. No matter if it is a good or an unfortunate memory, all these moments just seem so incredibly recent. I think about when I was an incoming student and how long ago that seems, but at the same time the memories of those days are still fresh.

So, here is my advice. Don’t let it pass you by. Focus on schoolwork, yes, but don’t forget about the rest. I have several moments that stand out more than the others.

Two of them are in the classroom. The rest are with my friends at 2 a.m. at Denny’s getting free smoothies from the manager because I ate a spoonful of everything possible mixed together on a dare, riding my horse in the Con and jump-offs at shows, dressing her up as a pirate and watching her become the horse I knew she could be. The late nights in the Billboard office drawing pictures of Cookie Monster on the whiteboard and the Keurig never ever having enough water in it, the time ‘my freshmen’ held me hostage in their room, road trips to Kentucky blasting ‘Talk Dirty,’ not sleeping, and so much more.

It took writing for this column to truly figure out what the Wilson experience means to me. It is about the people. Allow yourself to form those friendships. When I started Wilson I tried to not make friends, as silly as that sounds. I am not good at goodbyes, so I figured that if I don’t allow myself to get close to anyone I would avoid the hurt later. It didn’t work. I found an amazing group of people who have become my support system even post-graduation. They are the people to whom I vent, celebrate with, and text my beautifully hideous selfies.

So, what does this longer-than-anticipated rambling come down to? Allow yourself to have fun. Make friends, try new things, don’t worry about appearing weird. Because I promise that there is someone who matches your level of weirdness and when you find those people, it will be magical.

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