Welcome to the first blog of a new series about incredible students who chose Nazareth for early decision and never looked back! The first two students have been friends since their freshman year, living in Kearney Hall. They were randomly selected as roommates and ….well, I’ll let them tell you the rest.
Meet Samantha (Sami) Laursen
Major: Communication Sciences & Disorders (Speech Therapy)
Year: Junior, class of 2020
Q: What made you choose early decision to Naz?
A: “I chose early decision to Naz because the first time that I took a tour on campus, I had the feeling that I belonged there, a feeling that I had not felt on any other campus I had visited. I loved the atmosphere and beauty of the campus and how welcoming everyone made me feel. I also liked the idea of small class sizes. As a person in a high school graduating class of 55 students, I felt that Naz was a comfortable size. All of these factors helped me decide that there was no other place I wanted to go to further my education. I did not want to wait until March to get my application back and since I had made up my mind, I decided to take action and change my application to early decision.”
Q: What are your future goals? (Long-term and short-term?)
A: “A short-term goal that I have would be getting accepted into the CSD five-year program, which I apply to this January. This program allows CSD students to begin graduate school in the spring of their senior year and continue for six consecutive semesters to achieve their master’s degree. I hope to be accepted into this program because I would really like to stay at Naz for graduate school because I love my professors and all that Naz has to offer me. With this program, I hope to save money and get into the working world as soon as possible. A long-term goal would be getting a job around the Rochester area, a place I call home. There is so much opportunity in Rochester for my profession and I am hoping to take advantage of that.”
Meet Maelah Nadeau
Major: Communication Sciences & Disorders (Speech Therapy)
Year: Junior, class of 2020
Q: What made you choose early decision at Naz?
A: “Ultimately, I chose Nazareth early decision because on tour I received a gut feeling telling me that this was the school I had always imagined for myself. I wanted to apply early decision for various reasons, some of which include having a better chance of getting a spot into the competitive speech pathology program (CSD), being recruited onto the tennis team, and because I am a rather impatient person and I could not bear to wait until March for the results. I loved the program head of my department and all the other professors I met on my open house tour seemed approachable and intelligent. The campus looked beautiful and exceptionally safe. I’ve got to admit I am a huge sucker for brick, which Naz buildings have plenty of. On top of all of this, the people were friendly and the facilities were top notch.”
Q: How has being a student at Naz challenged you?
A: “Being a student at Naz has challenged me physically from working tirelessly at tennis practice, mentally with stressful, challenging, but informative courses and course loads, and emotionally from being far away from my family, friends, and dog!”
Friendship Ties
Q: So, you both are juniors now, and have been friends since the start! Tell me a little bit about that.
Sami: “One of my biggest goals for going to college was to make new friends. I had the app that you could meet other incoming freshman on and chatted with quite a few people, but never felt a connection with anyone that could be a potential roommate, so I chose to do random selection. This was the greatest decision I made. Many people did not believe that Maelah and I were randomly selected as roommates, we clicked so well! We roomed together all of freshman and sophomore year. We made so many memories and bonded well with many other friend groups. We did almost everything together, and when we weren’t together we would often be asked, “where’s your other half?”. Although I commute from home now and Maelah lives with former teammates, we still make time for each other and are sure to tell each other all about our day. Maelah truly is my best friend at Naz and without her I’d be a completely different person. I am so thankful that Naz gave me this opportunity and this friendship that will last a lifetime.”
Maelah: “My biggest fear about attending Nazareth was that I was so far away from my home in Maine. I knew absolutely no one within a 450 mile radius and this was somewhat unsettling to me. However, once I settled in with Sami and our other Kearney hallmates, we all became one big happy family and my homesickness faded. Sami and my other hallmates became my 2nd family, and Nazareth became my home away from home. Without a doubt Sami is my best friend here on campus. Our other friends often joke that Sami and I are conjoined at the hip. But honestly I wouldn’t want it any other way! We attend every class together and eat every meal together! We compliment each others personalities quite nicely. There is no one I am more myself with then Sami and I sure as heck don’t know what I’d do without her constant love and support!! She has always been there for me when I’ve needed a study buddy, dance partner, ear to vent to, a good laugh, or a hug!! I’ll forever be grateful for being randomly placed with her!! Even though we are no longer roommates, not much has changed! Sami will forever be one of my best friends. ”