Leigha Burkhalter Reflects on First College Semester

CAZENOVIA, NY (02/23/2012)(readMedia)-- Leigha J. Burkhalter, of Massena, N.Y., an inclusive elementary education major at Cazenovia College, was one of two first-year students invited to address their fellow students, professors, friends and parents, at the recent Annual First Year Banquet. The event celebrates first-year students' completion of the first semester of their college careers, and gives them a look ahead to their second semester.

Students audition for the privilege of speaking at the banquet. Of the audition process, Burkhalter said, "I was a little scared about it, but for me, auditioning is easy. I've been auditioning for speeches and musicals and solos since I was young, so except for the minor butterflies fluttering in my stomach, I was fine."

Burkhalter noted in her talk, "When I first started thinking about college, and even when I got here, I was so scared. I was leaving my family for the first real time in my life. I was starting to make decisions that would affect my future, and I was going to share a very small room with someone else...."

Her fears were allayed when she arrived on campus for the first day of her first semester of freshman year. She said, "As soon as I stepped foot on campus, there were at least five people who started unloading all of my boxes and bags from the back of my car and brought them to my room while I attempted to work out last minute details."

On her first walk around campus, Burkhalter met other students. "There were freshman like me who were trying to figure the campus out and upperclassmen who were helping them; there were ice breakers to get to know people and activities just for fun. It was a lot less scary than I thought it was going to be."

Burkhalter said that in classes, "I struggled a little with the work load but what college student doesn't? However, I had so many people who were willing to help me that it didn't pose a problem for long."

"That's the thing about Cazenovia College," she said. "We are a family. Classmates and teachers alike will stop and chat, asking how your day is going and how you are doing. And this has rubbed off on me as well. Not to say that I was ever a quiet child, in fact I was far from it, but I wasn't a person to go up to people and start talking. Now I find it easier to do just that and Cazenovia has helped me with it."

Burkhalter said that during her first semester her career path has already changed, and she has met friends she intends to keep for the rest of her life. "Each student at Cazenovia starts out on a journey as soon as they step foot on campus. Some will go on to become famous while others will start families in small towns, but we are all on a path to change the future. Cazenovia is a stepping stone for this, one of the first, and I can't wait to see where my path leads me."

Cazenovia College, founded in 1824, is an independent, co-educational, baccalaureate college near Syracuse, N.Y., offering a comprehensive liberal arts education in an exceptional community environment, with academic and co-curricular programs devoted to developing leaders in their professional fields. Cazenovia, named one of "America's Best Colleges" by U.S. News & World Report, is also a national College of Distinction. For more information, visit www.cazenovia.edu.

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