Mary Harmon: What a Comeback!
All quarter, students have been filling Lucas Hall and Benson with statements like “I am so happy to be back on campus!” or, “it is so good to finally meet you in person!” I think saying “happy to be back” is an understatement! Seeing campus full of life again and being able to participate in events that I enjoyed so much during my freshman and sophomore years has been so life-giving. From the 8 pm student masses in the beautiful mission to the random Tuesday night study dates with friends, from APB concerts to weekend trips to Santa Cruz, my main takeaway from this past quarter has been to never take a day on campus for granted. They call it “Claradise” for a reason!
Over the past academic year, I overloaded on courses since extracurriculars were minimal over zoom. In the moment, my homework seemed to pile up and sometimes feel all-consuming, but looking back at last year now, I am very thankful that I pushed myself to take so many courses because it freed up my schedule this year! I am pretty much done with my Accounting & Information Systems classes, so this fall quarter I was able to focus on taking a lot of classes to fulfill my music minor, which has been another really great part about being back in person. Being in Chamber Choir online just couldn’t compare to how it feels to be in the same room as some of my best friends, making the most beautiful music. Even this past weekend, we got to travel to San Francisco to participate in C4 - the California Catholic Collegiate Choral Festival. Traveling, making music in person, and meeting people from other Jesuit colleges has been the highlight of my first quarter of Senior Year.
One of the reasons why I appreciate my music courses so much is because it helps me to develop a different skill set than my Leavey School of Business classes do, but I have found that both the music and the business skills complement each other perfectly. I learn how to pay attention to details in choir and to collaborate with others, which aids me in group projects and homework assignments in my Accounting courses. I am so thankful to be able to participate in these two areas on campus, and to be doing it in person this year!