When I was looking at colleges, I had one very important criteria: I wanted to be near a city. Going to high school in Pittsburgh I was spoiled by all of the museums, libraries, restaurants and cultural centers that were all around me.† I loved walking down Fifth Ave. in Oakland after school and catching a bus downtown.† For crew, we would row down to the point where the Ohio, Monongahela and Allegheny rivers met just in time for the sunrise to peak out from behind all the buildings and bridges. I could not fathom giving this up to go to a rural college.
So, when I decided on The College of Wooster as my final choice, I was almost horrified that I would be going to school in the middle of nowhere, Ohio. On my visits to the College, everyone referred to the surrounding town as the city of Wooster. City? All I saw was a Wal-mart, some fast-food restaurants and a couple of tattoo shops. “Amish buggies go down Beall Ave. There is no way in hell that this is a city,” I thought to myself.
My mom tried to ease my sorrows by giving me some perspective, “You’ll probably never live in rural setting like Wooster again. Why not do it now?”† And, with graduation looming in the horizon, I realize that she has never been more right.
At Wooster I have formed strong bonds with my friends and professors in ways that I don’t think would have been possible if I wasn’t in this rural small college setting.† Unlike the college and university campuses that I remember walking through in my plaid wool uniform skirt and tucked-in polo, Wooster is a cohesive community.† The buildings are not scattered amongst hospitals, office buildings or apartment complexes.† And, a car isn’t necessary to get from one end of campus to the other. When walking from my dorm in Holden to class in Kauke, almost every passing face is familiar.† It quickly becomes a home away from home.
Independent Study, which takes over every senior’s life, is a Wooster experience that I don’t think anyone would say they wish they would go through again.† But it is an experience that is shared by every senior, which really brings the class together.† It connects us with every Wooster alumni in a special way.† I would never take back the experience.† Graduation means so much more to me because of this accomplishment.
From experience, I can say that the infamous “Wooster bubble” is very real. Life at The College of Wooster is very different than life in a city.† But, I have become invested in this College in a way that I never expected.† And I’m so happy that I chose to take the plunge and embrace my time in rural Ohio.