As a kid, I always dreamed of being many things. Whether it be a princess (which I did accomplish, if I do say so myself) or a police officer. I used to always point at someone and say “I want to do that” or “I will love to do that for the rest of my life”. Well, let’s face it. You grow up and mature and realize that while those dreams are possible individually, you cannot physically do all those things at once.

Before Saint Leo, I did imagine what it would be like to attend a university as big as Florida State, but then I realized how lonely I would have felt. How would I ever want to reach out and try to become a leader within its community with so many better candidates? Would I ever be able to have a conversation with a professor?

I knew God had a plan for my life but I fought it. I ended up at Saint Leo University and ended up extremely happy once I got there. While visiting Saint Leo one day during the summer before my freshmen year, I remember being in a room with a few other kids and them telling us how many people attend Saint Leo online versus on campus. I do not remember the exact number, but I remember the number of people who studied on campus was a lower number than the people that attended my high school!

At my first semester at Saint Leo, I decided to major in Criminal Justice. I was so intrigued with forensics and wanted to one day become an Agent in the F.B.I. That sure is a big dream, right? “How can I ever get to do this when Saint Leo is just so small?”

People have this idea that unless the University you attend has a number over 10,000, you won’t be anything. If you don’t have a football team that makes it to the championship every year, your school is nothing. “Oh, I have never heard of that, where is it?” is something I get quite frequently, but unless you are in a smaller populated school, you will never be able to realize the advantages you have.

Because Saint Leo is small, I get to have a mentor/mentee relationship with my professor. Because Saint Leo is small, I can go to career planning for all four years and map out my future and have them remember me by name. Because Saint Leo is small, my future goals will be easier to accomplish. Because Saint Leo is small, I am given more leadership opportunities to help set me up for the real world. Saint Leo is a family and we all look out for one another. I do go to a small school, and now I have an even bigger dream I will one day check off my long bucket list.

I will always be the girl who went to a small school but accomplished her big dream. While I haven’t graduated yet, I know that Saint Leo has only set me up for success in my future endeavors.