Four years ago when I made the decision to attend Mississippi State, I wasn’t exactly sure why I chose MSU. My parents and my grandparents are alumni and my great-grandfather was a professor here, but that wasn’t it.
I was raised a Bulldog fan and went my entire school-age years screaming “Maroon, white, fight fight fight” into the television on game days. I also visited Starkville for basketball games as a child and laughed as my father covered my ears at the end of the game when the crowd was yelling “We just beat the hell out of you,” but that wasn’t it either.
There is a vibe around this campus that pulls you in and makes you want to stay forever, but unfortunately most of us have to leave after four or five years here.
Some of us get involved with the Student Association or the Baptist Student Union. Others join the honor society of their choice or pledge a fraternity or a sorority. Although I did get involved with multiple things around campus, the one I chose to put the most time into was The Reflector, and I am very thankful for it.
I have had the opportunity the last year to represent the student body in a way very few people get to do. As editor in chief of The Reflector for the 2010-2011 school year, I have had the chance to meet people I wouldn’t normally meet, make friends with people I wouldn’t usually be friends with and learn about things I wouldn’t usually get the chance to.
I am not going to preach about how you should get involved or how you should make an attempt to make a difference at MSU, but I will challenge you to make the most of your time spent here.
As a freshman, I didn’t realize the day I walked out of The Reflectoroffice for the last time four years later I would be walking away from some of my favorite memories, greatest learning experiences and, most of all, some of my best friends.
Don’t take your time here for granted because you will be a month from walking across that stage in front of your entire family in an unattractive cap and gown and realize how important your college years are.
Each year the university says goodbye to the senior class, but when you walk across the stage on your last day as a student at MSU, I hope you have the fond memories here that I have made and can look back and realize these times are going to be the best four years of your life.
So as I say goodbye to my most memorable place on campus, please join me in welcoming the new editor in chief of The Reflectorfor the 2011-2012 year, Hannah Rogers. I hope her staff has the chance to make as many memories as I did.
 
April Windham is the editor in chief of The Reflector. She can be contacted at [email protected].