Meghan Seligman, Senior Class Committee

Well, this is it. Four years at Bryant have gone by way too fast, but I enjoyed every step of the way. Bryant has taught me to have more confidence in myself than I ever imagined and most importantly this allowed me to change. Through this change and experiences over my four years, Bryant has taught me to grow and is one of the reasons I have become the leader I am today. Bryant has brought me amazing friends, created long-lasting memories, and brought me one step closer to my future. Starting at Bryant my freshman year, it was a normal year, and then at the very end, covid hit and we were at home for the remainder of the time. Sophomore year came along with being stuck within our pods and adapting to hybrid learning. Junior year was slightly getting back to normal with in-person classes and ending the year with no masks. Lastly, my Senior year, the year that was fully normal, was the most lively and energetic out of all of my years here at Bryant.

Starting my freshman year at Bryant was such a scary adventure, and that was not having my family at my side all the time. Although I knew I had their support back home, being “alone” was a scary change, but so exhilarating all at the same time. The first day we moved onto campus I remember going to the lighting ceremony around the pond with my roommate. It was the first day I met her, and I thought to myself, this is it, Bryant is my home for the next four years and I couldn’t have been more excited. Freshman year of course came with its ups and downs with just learning the ropes of college and trying to get my feet on the ground. I wanted to join clubs and get involved to be able to meet new people and make the most out of my time here. During my freshman year, I created a friend group where I was able to make some unforgettable memories. My freshman year consisted of learning my way around Bryant, getting to know professors, and trying to see what campus life was all about. It was a time of change, learning, and growing all in one. When we went home for Spring break we thought we’d be back in one week. Covid had other ideas and we never came back to finish off our freshmen year. Since we were stuck at home, my friends and I would Zoom very frequently to catch up and even play games. My favorite was Kahoot because we continued to bond and get to know each other. Freshman year wasn’t what I expected it to be, but it sure was a great year getting to know Bryant and my friends, and my feet were hitting the ground running.

Sophomore year then came along, and I was living in a suite-style housing with four of my closest friends that I knew would be my pod for the year. I had a rocky start to the year because I was placed into quarantine the day after I moved in and therefore I missed the first two weeks of my sophomore year. As the year went along, my friends and I were stuck together due to the pod rule and only being allowed to be with a certain amount of people at a time. To try and have fun, we would go off campus to get froyo, quite frequently, and make a suite bonding trip out of it. That was one of my most fond memories of this year, getting froyo, and although we went multiple different times, most of us would stick with our go-to flavors along with our go-to toppings. This is also the year I was able to get more involved and step out of my comfort zone. I joined Best Buddies as a general member, joined Community Council as a community advocate to get more involved with ResLife, and joined the Bryant Pre-Health Association as public relations director. By getting more involved, I was giving myself more things to do, and putting my foot in the door for even more involvement as I grew. This year was filled with spending many nights in with my roommates instead of going out, watching countless movies and shows while creating an unforgettable bond with my suitemates

Junior year, was a time of change. I was able to become a Resident Assistant in the Upper Village area. This was a big change because I didn’t live with any of my friends, and instead four random suitemates. Being a Resident Assistant I tried to get involved with as much as I could within the position, community, and other involvements around campus as well. Being a Resident Assistant made me work hard to get to know my residents, and I even had the great accomplishment of completing all of my one-on-ones with my residents to truly get a connection and be a valuable resource for them. A great accomplishment of mine during this year was having the honor of being the Community Builder Of The Year from ResLife. This was a great honor because I felt truly recognized for the connections I was able to build and the safe and friendly community that I was able to get from it. At the very end of my Junior year, I was also able to create new connections and friendships because of my Resident Assistant role. It was with these friends that I was able to spend the most memorable year of my time at Bryant, my Senior year.

Going into my Senior year at Bryant, I decided to get even more involved to truly make the most out of my time and experience everything I could experience. I joined Student Government as a Senator and had many great opportunities in this role, such as helping plan the Fisher Patio grand opening event. I also was able to create so many great relationships with administration and faculty, most notably with Inge-Lise Ameer. Inge was a mentor and someone I could go to for guidance, but most importantly I consider her to be someone I could count on for advice and support. I also joined the Senior Class Committee which allowed me to help plan numerous different Senior events, the most exciting being Senior Week. I had so much fun doing this and it was such an amazing opportunity. I also was able to be a Head Resident Assistant for Middle Village and get to establish even more relationships with people at Bryant. One of my favorite memories at Bryant is when my friends and I have pond sits. This consists of eating lunch and dinner by the pond, sitting and listening to music, and just talking about anything on our minds. The pond sits are something we always looked forward to being able to do, no matter what time of day it is, and be out there for as long as we can. Bryant has led me to some of my best friends, and this experience has made it truly hard to leave.

Thank you Bryant and to my family and friends that supported me along the journey.