When I first stepped on to the Mount Carmel Campus in 2020 as a high school senior, I was filled with both excitement and uncertainty about the future. Like many other high school students, I was faced with making one of the most significant decisions of my life — where to attend college in the fall.

On the tour around campus, I was blown away by the beauty of Sleeping Giant State Park and impressed by the academic facilities and vibrant student life.

As I got to know the campus, I pictured myself walking down Bobcat Way, soaking in the atmosphere of what my future could look like. As the tour progressed, I became more and more certain that Quinnipiac offered everything that I was looking from academic resources to personal opportunities.

When the tour concluded, my mom met me with the age-old question: “So, what do you think?” Despite my excitement about Quinnipiac, I couldn’t shake the feeling of anxiousness about making the big decision.

As the adrenalin rushed through my body and it felt like my future life as a college student flashed before my eyes, I committed to making a leap of faith and trusting my gut. Although I was nervous about what the next four years would look like, one thing was certain – Quinnipiac was exactly where I was meant to be.

Returning to my mom’s question I answered, “I’m ready, I choose Quinnipiac.” It felt like a fairytale moment as the library bells started to ring. There, I stood in awe as the bells continued to chime as my mom and I smiled at each other. In that fleeting moment, everything became clear. A sense of peace and certainty washed over me and it was like the bells were a sign that I was exactly where I was meant to be.

That encounter with the Quinnipiac bells was a foreshadowing of the place where I would learn, grow and thrive.

As I crossed the Commencement stage of the Arnold Bernhard Library to receive my bachelor's degree and continue to hear the bells daily as a graduate student, I'm constantly reminded of the library bells that drew me to Quinnipiac five years ago – marking the beginning of an adventure that would change my life forever.