----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Being taken under the wings of upperclassman, you feel the words
of Dr. Michael Canales when he said in his inspirational speech to first
years “we want you to be better than we were.” With all these special
people, you have no shortage of options of friends to see over winter and
summer breaks. You have classmates from Utah welcoming you to visit them out in
the mountains, Northern Californians willing to show you national parks and
recreation spots just because they heard how much you love nature and the
outdoors, fellow Steeler fans suggesting a roadtrip on a weekend to Pittsburgh,
Texans telling you to go with them to the South by Southwest Festival down in
Austin, a Florida guy showing you more about Gator football and food then you
could ever possibly want to know, a Jersey guy telling you to stop by his place
when you visit your brother in New York, or locals from Ohio offering you to go
to their house for Thanksgiving you find yourself telling your parents that
even though you are away from family you still have brothers and sisters. Such
siblings go beyond things like profession as they truly wish and care for you
to be one of them. Hearing how much of a food town Cleveland is, one of my
favorite things to do with my fellow peers is to go with them to experience the
varied tastes in this melting pot of cultural environment. Gather around a
table you hear people’s backgrounds, their childhood, and their perspectives on
subjects which you have never before been enlightened about, you come to
realize that whether it has been the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine or now
Kent State University College of Podiatric Medicine, it always serves as a bond
and connection for people that goes beyond the boundaries of past, present, and
future.