Coming to the University of Manitoba from a small Catholic High School was a major change. Not only was I without many of my closest friends who had headed in other directions for school, but I was dreading the idea that I wouldn't have the personal relationships with professors that I was akin too.
Before I started taking classes in St. Paul's College in my second year, I had not made many friends in classes, and had yet to even speak one on one with a professor.
The Catholic Studies program at the Jesuit Centre is where all of that changed. Sharing so many classes with a small group of people, and seeing them so often around the college, friendships were soon fostered. As well, the professors in the program have had a profound impact on the type of student I am, and I would go so far as to say they have become personal friends.
Graduating this coming April here at the Chapel at St. Paul's will be much more meaningful to me than the convocation I had envisioned my first day on campus. St. Paul's College is where almost all of my studying, eating (and sometimes sleeping) takes place. More importantly, this college has helped me grow in friendship, in academics, and in Christ.