Vanessa Gross
Seriously?

When my opinions editor asked me to write one last column for the semester, I was a little sad. Not only because I love writing for the Crite and I will miss it, but because it’s another sign that graduation is right around the corner.
For those of you about to graduate, you obviously don’t feel this way, and I still have one more very long year ahead of me. But to those of you graduating seniors that I know, I am going to miss you.
When I first came back to Mesa State, I didn’t know anyone and a lot had changed since the first time I stepped foot on campus, including me. This time around, I came married and with a one year-old son and left  behind a career I lived and breathed. Yet I never looked back.
As a non-traditional student, it can be very uncomfortable the first day of class. I always walk into class hoping I am not the oldest student, and cringe when I am. It’s not hard when you’re sitting in a room of 19 to 24-year-olds. At least that is the way I used to feel, then I met some incredible people that have made my journey to graduation bearable.
The seniors I’m speaking of are a group of men and women who have always been friendly and helpful to me, and great to my kids. I have seen this group of individuals work their butts off to get to these final weeks.
I admire them for showing up everyday, despite being tired and burned out sometimes, enduring heavy class loads and multiple other sport and academic schedules. They work full-time jobs as well and some of them have multiple jobs. A few of them have had to commute hours to get to one class, which I think is just insane, but they did. All of them have dealt with many personal issues along the way, everything from the death of a loved one to heartbreak; the birth of a child to getting engaged. They never let anything get in their way.
I am going to miss the moments when I walk into a room and I hear that loud voice yelling, “Vanessa! Where are your kids?!,” and see that big, wonderful smile.
I feel blessed that I had the chance to work for and with one of the most determined and patient mommas I know. I will be lost without those witty banters I have carried on with a handful of funny and sweet people. And to the ladieProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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who have always had my back and checked on me when I had my baby, you’re the best!
I appreciate those seniors that have worked at Little Mavs, where my son has attended the last two years. They make my son feel so important when they see him when he has had to come to class with me. They don’t have to do that, but they do.
I could have written about so many other things this last time around, but since this may be the only chance I get to tell those graduating seniors how they have impacted my life as a student here, from afar and up close, I could not pass it up. They have set a great example of what hard work and determination, despite life geProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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ing in the way, will get you. They are cool, real people that have always been gracious and not stuck up.
Whatever their plans are when they go, the world is a better place because of them. Naming names would feel like an acceptance speech, so I hope my message gets across regardless. Thanks for reading.
u
vgross@mesastate.edu