I visited Drake as a sophomore in high school. My parents and I disagree on who thought it was too early, but hindsight revealed that it was for the best. The COVID-19 pandemic hit my junior year, and Drake is the only place I visited in-person before making my college decision, besides the University of Kansas where most of my family attended.

Based on my first visit, I didn’t think Drake was for me. I was intimidated by all the students double majoring. However, I learned through conversations from my now advisors that I could succeed at Drake. Moreover, I could double major, study abroad, sing in the choir and graduate in four years, which is more than other schools could promise me.

As soon as I set foot on campus again, this time for orientation, I fell in love with Drake and that feeling has never left.

Like any wondrous love story, Drake and I had our ups and downs. The administration frustrated me and the University is graced with the eternal curse of hyping up sports more than the arts, but here we are. My time at Drake has come to an end, and what a ride it has been.

So many organizations have been integral to my Drake experience: Borealis Choir, the Public Relations Student Society of America, the Adams Leadership Institute, Delta Gamma and, of course, The Times-Delphic. Each of these organizations has taught me life lessons while introducing me to people I hope to keep as friends well past the time I walk across the stage.

I am so lucky that I got to share my Drake story with prospective students for the past four years through my role as a Student Ambassador in the Office of Admission. Meeting students and their families, hearing about their interests and selling them on Drake reinforces why I chose and continue to choose this University, which many of us call a home away from home. What’s even more rewarding is when they return to campus as a student and inform me that I was part of their decision to attend Drake. I hope my legacy lives on through those students.

One of my most treasured Drake memories is from being a student ambassador: A student I toured confided in me that they use different pronouns than their mom knew and wanted to know what it was like to be a trans student on campus. I remain deeply humbled that someone considered me a safe space to reveal a deep vulnerability they felt when it came to picking a college.

Drake University has been a beacon of inclusivity and hope during my time here while the state of Iowa has become increasingly more hostile towards marginalized communities. I am proud to be a Drake student because we stick to our values, and I call on the administration and Board of Trustees to remember these values and maintain them after I’m gone.

More than anything, I will miss the people. I made friends who walked to the C-Store in the snow to get me orange juice when I was sick, friends who retrieved my epi-pen when I inconveniently left it behind amid an allergic reaction and friends who helped me hastily pack my car when I believed I was going home to say goodbye to my stepmom before her life was miraculously saved by an organ transplant.

These same friends yapped with me until 4 a.m., tumbled onto John’s SafeRide bus and made more Snookie’s trips than I can count. I will always treasure the memories we made painting squares on Painted Street, running through the rain to hear Bob Woodward speak at the Bucksbaum Lecture and grabbing late night breakfast from Vice President Jerry Parker and Assistant Dean of Students Lynne Cornelius the night before finals week.

I have hope that we will remain friends as we spread out across the country, but I’m leaving a small part of my heart between the blocks of 31st and 25th and University and Forest Avenues. My professors have played a large part in my life-changing college career. Professors connected me with my first internship, let me interview them and their spouses for the TD, showed me pictures of their dogs and even let me cry in their office when I bit off more than I could chew. Dr. Kelly Bruhn even let me cry about a boy — a boy who would become my partner seven months later.

I could go on and on about how much I love Drake, and I’m sure I’ll continue to do so long after my student discounts expire. It was alumni who sold me on Drake when they randomly caught me in my Drake T-shirt before I committed and shared their love for their Drake experience unprompted. I believed them, and now I hope to be that alum who convinces students to enroll at a medium-sized liberal arts university in Iowa with kickass athletics and arts.

This chapter of my Drake story will end in more than two weeks when I cross the stage and enter my ‘alumni era,’ but my experiences at Drake have deeply impacted who I am today. I love Drake University, and I hope to see it flourish when I return for Relays in the future.