My name is Shannon Poulsen and I was born and raised in Schaumburg, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. I am a student who actively chose to move from the beautiful, windy city that I love to Newark, DE, and I’ve enjoyed every moment of it.
Shannon shows us her UD pride!
I am a girl of many tastes. In high school, I was involved in so many activities that to list them brings me over my word count. I knew that to keep myself happy, I needed a school that could offer me all the opportunities that I wanted.
Coming into my second year of college, I’m the Public Relations chair for Riot Act Improv, a blogger for the Honors Program, an Orientation Leader, a writer for the Black Sheep, and an actor, writer, and director for the Biweekly Show (a satire news show through STN 49). I dove right into the ocean of opportunities I found at Delaware.
What most people find interesting, however, is not my involvement. They don’t ask me about the atmosphere of UD, nor the academic challenges, my majors or minors, where I live on campus. They always ask me, “How/why did you chose UD if you’re from Chicago?”
College can be whatever you make it, and for me, it was, and still is, an opportunity to grow. I knew I wanted to jump out and reach someplace new. If I physically stretched my boundaries, then I could stretch myself to be an even better student in college.
One day, I got a letter in the mail from UD. I laughed at the concept of saying “Yeah, I go to Delaware!” and cheering for the “Mighty Blue Hens!” After some research, I realized the school had merit. Lots of merit, in fact, and also contained a lot of the things I was looking for. I decided to visit the school to weigh it against others.
Now. This you might have read somewhere else from another writer who might have had to sound as persuasive as possible, but here is the honest truth. I chose UD because of a feeling. When I stepped onto campus, I felt excited! I had butterflies! I had visited multiple other schools and none of them made me feel like I had a crush. The best part is that my crush on the university is reciprocated. UD loves me back. We’re in a happy and healthy relationship that everyone can achieve.
I am a firm believer that college is what you make of it. You can have a good time no matter where you go as long as you have a positive attitude and try to make it work. I absolutely love my experience here at UD and would not change anything.
As for the distance, sometimes you need to leave home to find what makes you truly, truly happy. I’ll forever be glad that I did.
~Shannon Poulsen
