Dear Saginaw Valley State University Students:

I love you guys.

I haven't met a majority of you, but I'm sure I've seen many of you passing through the halls. We've probably exchanged smiles, or accidentally bumped into each other. We've probably sat near each other at the FOC (That's what it will forever be called in my mind), or at Einstein's. Maybe you were in the crowd at a football game while I spun flag during the halftime show. Or maybe we've even had classes together.

Even if we've never met at all, I love you.

Because I've learned that SVSU has some of the most fantastic students there are. We are a family. We celebrate, we mourn, and we learn together. We get pumped about our football games and Battle of the Valleys. We rally together when we lose a fellow cardinal. We walk around campus saying hello, smiling, or just nodding in passing. We make every new cardinal feel welcome, and every veteran cardinal feels like part of the family.

During my time here, Saginaw Valley has become my home away from home. The friends I've made here will be lifelong friends that understand the Cardinal Pride like I do. The dorms became my first home away from my parents. I had to learn to cook on my own, do laundry on my own, keep things clean without my parents nagging me, and make sure I had enough food to feed myself more than just ramen noodles every night.

Freshman year, I was shy and timid, and I ended up going home almost every weekend. Leaving my house was torture. I actually cried heading back to school for the first few weeks. But that quickly changed. I quickly found myself wanting to stay and hang out with the friends I was making. We would get together almost every night, playing cards or video games, having a drink or two, and laughing together until our stomachs hurt.

No one particularly is overjoyed to go to class, but we do. Not only to further our education but because enrolling in those classes means you're allowed to come back to this amazing school for another semester and spend time with those you grow close to.

And now, sitting here as a soon to be graduate, I can't believe it's time to leave. I'm saddened by the fact that I won't wake up every morning and make that journey across campus to my classes. I'm saddened that I won't be able to walk through the halls with a coffee in one hand, phone in the other, rushing to get to my next class without falling asleep mid-journey.

I will no longer be able to spend long nights talking in my dorm room with my room mates about nothing in particular. I will no longer be able to go to student events. I will no longer be able to identify with the vast amount of students sitting in a booth at Einstein's pouring over a textbook. I will no longer be able to call myself a college student. And I will no longer be able to see the friends I so adore on a daily basis.

As I get ready to take the next step into my adulthood, I have to say: Thank You, SVSU, for being the best extended family I could have ever asked for. To all those who have just become a Cardinal, enjoy your time here. It's amazing. To those getting ready to leave like I am, I hope you had just as great of an experience as I did. And to those who have already flown away from the nest- I hope it's easy to come back, once in a while, and enjoy this campus like we used to.

I can't imagine attending college anywhere else. Thank you for the memories, the laughs, and most importantly, the education.

Student today, Alumni tomorrow, Cardinal forever.

Love,

A Fellow Cardinal