By Jake Zabski
Graduation always seems to bring about all of the cliches. The word “goodbye” is a word I hate uttering because to me a goodbye is permanent and while graduating symbolizes moving on, it doesn’t mean that Stonehill is going away forever, and neither are the best friendships, connections, and memories I made here. It’s a see you later, if not as soon as possible.
The one thing that kept me coming back every year to Stonehill was the community that I cultivated here, especially with my friends and my involvement with The Summit. My best friends that I met here have become my chosen family. They are the friends who will be the aunts and uncles to my future dogs or children, the first people who will get a call with my good or bad news, the first people who will get an invite to any major life achievement or award, the people who have become my chosen family.
Most of my chosen family I met during my time here at Stonehill. Some of us bonded at the sweltering June 2018 summer orientation, some of us met on the floors of O’Hara Hall, some of us met as we took the same classes over the years, and some of us met in the last year as we were finally able to socialize following the height of the pandemic. I met my current roommate my freshmen year, as we didn’t live with each other initially. To say he’s my roommate is an understatement, he’s become my brother. Being the token guys of our female-led friend group, we were never far behind them and became their honorary suitemates pretty quickly. I will miss all of the fun themed parties, running around campus at night and getting into mischief, ordering a platter of fried food from The Hill before Brother Mike's, hammocking by the pond, adventures around the state, and silly nights of Catan or Fortnite but I know those moments are not going anywhere, close families never leave each other for long and our family traditions only just started here at Stonehill.
As for my experiences in Journalism, I have to thank Elizabeth for reaching out to me during my fall of Junior year to write an opinion piece for the newspaper. While I was initially hesitant to share my work with the public, it was so well received that it was even published in the Monday Morning Update. Not bad for the first time! This gave me the confidence to continue to cultivate and share my writing, eventually becoming part of The Summit staff in the following months. Joining The Summit was perhaps one of the best decisions I could have made in my entire college career, and I am forever grateful for the doors that opened for me because of it.
I also want to thank Professor Maureen Boyle for always giving me the best feedback on my stories, often over email after she had read my work where she’d rave about how my writing was publication-worthy and encouraged me to keep pushing my writing further outside the classroom. I’m grateful to have worked with her for the last two years, and I am sad knowing that our time together is up soon. Thank you for always championing my best work, being a great advisor, and being my biggest writing supporter.
Lastly, I want to thank Stonehill for giving me a place to try new things, become the best version of myself, and allow me to feel part of something greater for the first time in my life. I will never forget the experiences, the people I met, and the memories made here. It’s not a goodbye though, it’s a see you later.