The DSHA I didn’t get from a book.

Right now, college seems like the far-off City of Oz, and you’re skipping along the yellow brick road of roommate possibilities, color-coordinated comforters, and orientation schedules. It’s tantalizing and exciting, and it should be! Underneath the excitement, though, there may be a part of you that doesn’t really want to leave Kansas. This part of you asks powerful questions like, “What if I miss my family?” “What am I going to do without my friends?” and “What if I struggle in my classes?”

 

Everyone asks these questions, and you’re by no means alone. College is a fantastic mix of independence and responsibility and a roller coaster of ups and downs. What you may not realize, however, is how particularly well-equipped you already are to handle them. You’ve had the DSHA experience – you’ve learned outside of the book.

 

As I walked across the stage of the Milwaukee Theater in graduation white, I knew I was ready for college. As I looked ahead to university classes, I was not concerned about writing thesis statements, practicing healthy study habits, or participating in class. Thanks to my four years as a Dasher, I knew these tools would be second nature.

In a particular and unique way, DSHA had woven within me a map that would ensure my academic success as an Honors student at the University of Minnesota. What I didn’t realize, however, was how much that map transcended the classroom, and how much it would warm and enlighten my life with learning beyond the “learning”. So much of what DSHA had taught me, I realized along the way, didn’t come from a textbook. It came from the heart.

 

Though I utilized all of these lessons throughout my first semester in college at the University of Minnesota, I relied on them most at the beginning of my second. Over the first semester of college, I had grown very close to my roommate, Katrina, and in November, she decided to transfer universities. My personal Oz was suddenly far less glittery. I felt that I was losing my closest friend on campus, and I worried about my ability to reach out and make new connections. My course load was decreasing for second semester, and the additional hours of free time I had looked forward to spending with Katrina seemed suddenly very empty.

 

I took a few days to adjust to the news, but I didn’t wallow in it. To overcome these obstacles, I pushed myself. I applied for an on-campus position that is usually reserved for juniors and seniors, and was hired. I welcomed my new roommate, Yuying, and bonded with her as we discussed differences and similarities between U.S. and Chinese culture. When I met people in classes, clubs, or through other friends, I reached out and asked them to get dinner or to see a movie. I strengthened the connections I had already made, and formed more. I used the lessons I had learned through my experience at DSHA to better my experience at the University of Minnesota, and you will too.

 

To learn what I have learned, you don’t need just a textbook. Even a ‘good school’ is not enough to develop a young woman into everything she can be.

 

To learn what I have learned, and to become who I have become, you need DSHA – and that, you already have in your hearts.