How I Chose ONU

Going through on college tours starting my junior year of high school, I thought I wanted to go to a big school in a major city. I grew up in a small suburban city where I knew everyone and their family and decided I needed a change. But, as I began to travel to those bigger cities to get a taste of those schools, my opinion slowly changed on what I wanted. In order to understand what I was feeling about my choices, I started to see I needed exactly the opposite of what I was looking at then. That’s when my search for a school in a smaller city began. 

ONU was nowhere near the top of my list; I actually did not want to look there in the first place because both of my parents went there. I felt as though if I went there, I would be attempting to follow them instead of being my own person and making choices for me. Well that, and I thought Ohio Northern was in Cleveland (which is northern Ohio in my defense), a part of Ohio that was out of my range. Once I found out the true location of ONU, I decided I should at least

give it a shot since it fit all my criteria. At that point, I had already looked at Ball State University in Indiana and Miami University, two medium schools in rural towns. I was torn between the two and adding a third school did not seem like the best option, but I decided to do it anyways. As I walked around campus with my mom and the tour guide, with my mom doing most of the talking, I was pleasantly surprised with the school. Although Ohio Northern is surrounded by endless fields of corn, I felt like it was a possible home for me. The first time I visited, I was not completely convinced ONU was the school for me, but it was higher on my list than I anticipated it to be before the visit. I took a few months off of college visits in order to give myself time to think about all my options to attempt to decide what I wanted.

The summer between my junior and senior year, I was doing a lot of thinking about my future, but to no prevail. I had not narrowed down my options at all and was stuck in the same place I was months before then. That is, until I went on a European cruise with my grandma in July.I have mentioned this story before, but to summarize, while we were in Pisa,

I met a woman who gave me advice about my anticipated major that set off a lightbulb in my head. The moment I heard her talk about her college experience, I was almost positive Ohio Northern was the school for me. A few weeks after I returned from the vacation, I took another visit to ONU with my dad this time; I decided I needed a different perspective with me for a second visit. That is the day when I met my two potential public relations professors: Dr. Alisa Agozzino and Dr. Kathie Fleck. The moment I met both of them and heard about the program I could possibly be in someday, I knew ONU was where I was meant to be for college. My hesitation because of my parents was gone, and I actually felt more motivated to go because it created a connection with them. The feeling of making my decision was one I will never forget and I hold onto that moment to this day. Although the visit was in the summer, I did not officially commit until Halloween weekend my senior year. Most people saw it coming because I never stopped talking about it, but it felt great to officially be a polar bear nonetheless. 

After I officially decided, the next two best feelings were when I met my future roommate and when I found out one of my friends from high school was also going to Ohio Northern. Both of those are stories for another day, but they are two people that have changed my life here at ONU. I have only been here for a semester and a half, but I know I have found my home for the next 4 years. I have never felt so much love and support from the people here and I know I will always have someone to help me back up when I get down. Coming into college, I did not want to leave home and thought I would struggle being away from the people I had known my entire life, but it was quite the opposite. Finding where you belong, despite all the other amazing moments I have had in the past year, is the best feeling in the world.