Merriss: People are the key at JSU
Toni Merriss
Issue date: 11/29/07 Section: Opinion
When I first started at JSU for my undergraduate degree, I was just out of high school. My dad worked at JSU and almost everyone that I graduated with was going to Troy University. But I went against the grain and chose Jacksonville (this was also back when Troy and JSU were huge rivals).
Though that was only seven years ago, sometimes it feels like an eternity.
My first two years at JSU were typical of many who are just getting out of the house for the first time. I rarely studied, rarely went to class and was always partying.
Of course, that did not sit well with my parents or the scholarship board. After my sophomore year, I decided that I didn't need college and I was done.
I got a "real" job, worked "real" hours and learned that "real" life is not as much fun as they show on television. Whenever someone would ask me where I went to school or when I had graduated, I hated saying, "Well, I am taking a break."
Though I was making good money at the time, my boss informed me that although I had the experience, I didn't have the education to go any further with that company so, after two and a half years, I finally figured it out.
If I did not end my break soon, it was going to be a permanent one. In the spring of 2005, I started back to school at JSU.
As I am told now, most people were surprised not only that I came back at all, but also that I came back to JSU.
Apparently, there are a lot of people who would rather start over completely than to return to the scene of the crime and try to right old wrongs.
Right them I did, and this past summer, I finally graduated.
So, what does a new graduate decide to do? Start back to grad school at JSU, of course.
I can't really explain why JSU pulls at me. Perhaps it is the feel of a big university in a small town that I get as I drive down the road.
Perhaps not.
My gut tells me it is the people. The students, faculty and staff that make up this great university are why I came back here.
The fact that I can walk into many buildings on campus and know more than five people that know me as well. The fact that most of my professors know my name after only one or two class meetings.
I mean, seriously, what other school can you go to where the president leaves his door open on Friday afternoons, just so students can talk to him?
Here at the Chanticleer this semester, we may have been busting some chops on some of our stories and editorials. We do this not only because it is our job and it helps us prepare for our future jobs, we do it so that we can help JSU be aware of ongoing problems and hopefully take the necessary actions to solve them.
We want JSU to succeed just as much as anybody, and if we can help even one person get a better quality education, then we feel that we have done our job.
JSU is not just my school, it is my alma mater and one that I am proud of.
Toni Merriss, not acclaimed novelist Toni Morrisson, is the editor in chief of The Chanticleer. She can be reached at (256) 782-5701 or at chantyeditor@gmail.com.
Though that was only seven years ago, sometimes it feels like an eternity.
My first two years at JSU were typical of many who are just getting out of the house for the first time. I rarely studied, rarely went to class and was always partying.
Of course, that did not sit well with my parents or the scholarship board. After my sophomore year, I decided that I didn't need college and I was done.
I got a "real" job, worked "real" hours and learned that "real" life is not as much fun as they show on television. Whenever someone would ask me where I went to school or when I had graduated, I hated saying, "Well, I am taking a break."
Though I was making good money at the time, my boss informed me that although I had the experience, I didn't have the education to go any further with that company so, after two and a half years, I finally figured it out.
If I did not end my break soon, it was going to be a permanent one. In the spring of 2005, I started back to school at JSU.
As I am told now, most people were surprised not only that I came back at all, but also that I came back to JSU.
Apparently, there are a lot of people who would rather start over completely than to return to the scene of the crime and try to right old wrongs.
Right them I did, and this past summer, I finally graduated.
So, what does a new graduate decide to do? Start back to grad school at JSU, of course.
I can't really explain why JSU pulls at me. Perhaps it is the feel of a big university in a small town that I get as I drive down the road.
Perhaps not.
My gut tells me it is the people. The students, faculty and staff that make up this great university are why I came back here.
The fact that I can walk into many buildings on campus and know more than five people that know me as well. The fact that most of my professors know my name after only one or two class meetings.
I mean, seriously, what other school can you go to where the president leaves his door open on Friday afternoons, just so students can talk to him?
Here at the Chanticleer this semester, we may have been busting some chops on some of our stories and editorials. We do this not only because it is our job and it helps us prepare for our future jobs, we do it so that we can help JSU be aware of ongoing problems and hopefully take the necessary actions to solve them.
We want JSU to succeed just as much as anybody, and if we can help even one person get a better quality education, then we feel that we have done our job.
JSU is not just my school, it is my alma mater and one that I am proud of.
Toni Merriss, not acclaimed novelist Toni Morrisson, is the editor in chief of The Chanticleer. She can be reached at (256) 782-5701 or at chantyeditor@gmail.com.
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