THE PRE-K TO (EAST COAST) COLLEGE CONNECTION

By Caroline Kawabe

The first time I stepped on the Boston University campus, I knew it was the place for me. There were questions, doubts, and feelings of indecision along the way; but the universe eventually took its course, and I ended up at exactly the right place for me. I’ve always expected to come back to California for life. I love surfing, the beach, and my friends and family here too much not to, but I also knew I needed to push myself to explore what else was out there. I felt college was the perfect time to do so.

Life at Boston University has provided me with a new set of connections and community I never thought possible somewhere so far from the place I call home. Before I graduated high school, I found out one of my oldest friends from pre-K at Pegasus, Daniel Sherlock ‘17, also planned to attend Boston University. We reconnected over our “last summer” at home and have remained best friends since. It felt amazing to have a piece of home a mere block away on Commonwealth Avenue. (There are many more Pegasus Class of ‘17 friends a stone’s throw further: Molly Joyce, Jack Thompson, and Brandon Wong attend Boston College, and Katy Greenwald is a student at Harvard.)

Within the first days of landing in New England, I nervously walked with my roommate to our first event at Boston University: matriculation. I was incredibly anxious about meeting friends and finding my “place” at a new school and in a new city, but I could also feel the excitement jittering up and down my spine. Apparently my new-student nerves were not exclusive to me as a girl from Wisconsin quickly approached and asked to sit with us. In no time we three became a circle of eight, excitedly sharing our stories, and we remain close friends to this day.

From that first encounter to today, my life has been a nonstop string of incredibly eye-opening experiences, predicated on geography. I have learned so much about the fashion, culture, and dialects of the East Coast, and I have made friends and connections with people from all over the world. I’m amazed that, regardless of the diversity of our origins, we can form such familial bonds. During the second semester of my freshman year, I participated in sorority rush and joined the Delta Gamma sorority, like my mother. It has provided me with a sisterhood away from home, and I am forever grateful for the friendships I have made there.

The Pegasus “family” was my first platform for exploration; BU has proved to be equally, if not exponentially, synergistic. I started writing for The Buzz, BU’s editorial magazine, gaining experience having my writing published both online and in-print. Additionally, I got a job working for Boston University Athletics as a member of the production crew, helping to produce live games for streaming on ESPN+ and College Sports Live. Working on the production crew has provided me with behind-the-scenes exposure to sports broadcasting that is beyond belief. As I pursue my double major in Public Relations and Journalism, I am grateful for the experiences and opportunities that both Pegasus and Boston University have provided me.

There is a full roster of Pegasus alumni past and presently at East Coast colleges. Among them is AJ Plumb, another of my dear friends from the beginning who currently attends New York University’s Tisch

School of the Arts, where he is pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama. Plumb said the transition from Newport Beach to New York City has been a “whirlwind.” Despite the constant hum of activity, the largeness of the city was surprisingly isolating at first. He too chose Greek life as a member of the Zeta Psi fraternity, which he credits to helping him find his “group” outside of classes. From my experience with him, however, I would say his charismatic, social-butterfly personality has been the source of his new, extensive circle of friends, gleaned from his acting studio, dormitory, clubs, and yes, his fraternity.

“I am proud to call a lot of my new friends my friends for life,” said Plumb.

Plumb hopes to move back to California, post-college, to pursue a career in acting. (Ideally, he hopes to use a public platform as an actor to promote political and environmental change.) Plumb felt the call to perform during his time at Pegasus, where he frequently starred as the lead in many all-school and middle-school shows as well as finding annual success in the Shakespeare monologue competitions. Again, it’s all connected… to Pegasus. wuw