As I walked with my high school classmates on graduation day, with all of our family and friends before us, I thought to myself that I would never have such a strong sense of community as I did at that moment. My small-town community proved me wrong almost a month ago, when it showered my family with actions of kindness, love and thoughtfulness.
Growing up, I noticed how community members would surround others when tragedy or crisis struck. It is an indescribable and humbling experience when you are on the other side.
When my grandmother passed away a few weeks ago, I never would have imagined the response my family received from friends and acquaintances. We were delightfully overwhelmed for several days by the massive amount of food, gifts and number of visitors that filled my grandfather’s home.
As if that wasn’t enough, my high school classmates, who have been the center of my community throughout my life, traveled across Missouri and Kansas to be with my family. They will never know how much it meant to me, but I cannot imagine going through that time without their support.
Friends from home were not the only ones to reach out to my family that week. Baker University is a community in itself, and it was just as caring toward me as those who knew my grandmother.
Everyone who knew what happened was so compassionate and understanding that it made me even more proud to call myself a Baker student.
My professors and softball coaches were all considerate and willing to work with me after missing a few days to be with my family, and the encouragement I received from my Alpha Chi Omega sorority sisters and softball teammates can never be reciprocated properly. <br/>
As a prospective student, I knew there was something different about Baker that set it apart from any other school I looked at.<br/>
I could not put my finger on it at the time, but now I can see it clearly.
Baker offers students the opportunity to become a part of a community not just with other students, but with faculty and staff as well.
It is a place where students learn and grow as an individual, but also feel a part of something bigger than themselves.
I am extremely grateful to be surrounded by such great people at home and at Baker.
I never expected to learn so much from this type of experience, but I now know never to take a community for granted, no matter how large or small it may be.