Students reflect on their time at Wheaton
Josh Begley '10 & Aaron Bos-Lun '12
Issue date: 3/25/09 Section: Commentary
This article may be a little different from what you're used to reading. Recently, the two of us sat down and had a great conversation about how much Wheaton has to offer to us and our fellow students. This conversation inspired us to co-write a piece describing what led us each to Wheaton, why we love it here, and the ways in which we believe the Wheaton Community could most easily be improved. We hope you enjoy our stories and our thoughts.
(Josh) Wheaton was never really on my radar back in high school. I only applied last-minute on a whim. For me, Wheaton was a "safety" school close to home. But as I would tell prospective students when I was a tour guide here two summers ago, nowadays I can't picture myself anywhere but Wheaton. Yes, I was disappointed about not getting into my so-called top choices, but the fact of the matter is you don't really know if a school is a good fit for you until you walk its campus as a student. It took a semester for me to truly feel comfortable here, but it did happen.
(Aaron) My path to Wheaton has been strange and unpredictable. I spent the first few years of my life in a trailer in South Dakota. A series of great (but long) stories explains how I went from there to Pennsylvania, to New Hampshire, and then to Vermont. At any rate, when I was 16, I won a scholarship to attend United World College-USA in New Mexico, a high school with 200 students from 92 countries. Inspired by that experience, I took a year off before heading to college and participated in City Year in Washington, D.C., doing community service full-time with children and youth.
(Both) Our journeys to Wheaton were markedly different, and our arrivals here came two years apart. But our experiences at Wheaton have been similar, perhaps because we have approached things with the same attitude. We are grateful to be here and grateful for what Wheaton has to offer-challenging classes with dedicated professors, scholarship opportunities and stipends, extracurricular activities, and so much more. Yes, it's easy to complain about so many aspects of daily life at Wheaton, and admittedly many complaints are justified. But when we consider all of those people in the world who will never get the chance to attend college (for instance, Josh's brother, who has special needs) or who lack a safe place to sleep each night (e.g. so many of the inner-city kids that Aaron met last year in the nation's capital), we're humbled by what we do have here.
We are not asking you to skip around campus with a lollipop in both hands and a gum drop smile on your face. Rather, we are suggesting simply that all students reflect upon their particular path to Wheaton and what Wheaton offers and provides to them. Through so doing, we all might just end up making our college an even better place.
(Josh) Wheaton was never really on my radar back in high school. I only applied last-minute on a whim. For me, Wheaton was a "safety" school close to home. But as I would tell prospective students when I was a tour guide here two summers ago, nowadays I can't picture myself anywhere but Wheaton. Yes, I was disappointed about not getting into my so-called top choices, but the fact of the matter is you don't really know if a school is a good fit for you until you walk its campus as a student. It took a semester for me to truly feel comfortable here, but it did happen.
(Aaron) My path to Wheaton has been strange and unpredictable. I spent the first few years of my life in a trailer in South Dakota. A series of great (but long) stories explains how I went from there to Pennsylvania, to New Hampshire, and then to Vermont. At any rate, when I was 16, I won a scholarship to attend United World College-USA in New Mexico, a high school with 200 students from 92 countries. Inspired by that experience, I took a year off before heading to college and participated in City Year in Washington, D.C., doing community service full-time with children and youth.
(Both) Our journeys to Wheaton were markedly different, and our arrivals here came two years apart. But our experiences at Wheaton have been similar, perhaps because we have approached things with the same attitude. We are grateful to be here and grateful for what Wheaton has to offer-challenging classes with dedicated professors, scholarship opportunities and stipends, extracurricular activities, and so much more. Yes, it's easy to complain about so many aspects of daily life at Wheaton, and admittedly many complaints are justified. But when we consider all of those people in the world who will never get the chance to attend college (for instance, Josh's brother, who has special needs) or who lack a safe place to sleep each night (e.g. so many of the inner-city kids that Aaron met last year in the nation's capital), we're humbled by what we do have here.
We are not asking you to skip around campus with a lollipop in both hands and a gum drop smile on your face. Rather, we are suggesting simply that all students reflect upon their particular path to Wheaton and what Wheaton offers and provides to them. Through so doing, we all might just end up making our college an even better place.
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