Freshman Breanna Marcus took a three day long bus ride from Bronx, New York to Colorado Mesa University after already taking the same bus ride the previous year. Last year she couldn’t leave her northern roots in the big apple. But now, she plans to continue to fight her longing for home and to stay here in Grand Junction.
“I got homesick as soon as it hit September 1,” Marcus said. “That’s when it really hit me again. I called my mom at 3 a.m., telling her I was coming home.”
“The next morning I woke up and told her no, don’t let me come home.”
Marcus encountered weather delays, thunderstorm and tornados during the bus trips. Afterwards, she decided a plane ride would almost be worth it.
“I didn’t want to do it again,” Marcus said. “I’d rather fly even though I’m afraid of planes. The first time we took a bus we drove through a tornado. The second time was much scarier because there was thunder and hail that would hit the glass.”
Making it to Colorado eased her mind because of the mountains, sunsets and diverse culture Colorado Mesa offers.
“Mesa is just a huge campus and everything is very diverse,” Marcus said. “It is the same thing as New York and makes me feel like I’m at home.”
After hours of watching Criminal Minds, Law and Order and other crime shows, Marcus was inspired to join Colorado Mesa’s criminal justice program.
“I want to be an FBI agent or join a SWAT team,” Marcus said.
The decision to come back to Colorado Mesa was made easy by the admissions office at CMU, as well as by the reasonable tuition price.
“You guys still had all my information so I didn’t have to go through the whole applying process again,” Marcus said. “Mesa actually is a lot cheaper than schools in New York, so it was an easy decision. Tuition in New York is around $30,000 a year compared to CMU at $11,000.”
Marcus has had to make some adjustments to the quiet lifestyle.
“In New York, you hear cars and you always have something to do you,” Marcus said. “I can go to Times Square because the lights never shut off. It’s really quiet here and you have to find things to do.”
With a big city comes a big transportation system, but Marcus doesn’t let Grand Junction’s lack of one get in the way.
“Me and my roommate rented a bike and go on different adventures,” Marcus said. “I really love my roommate and all my suitemates. We have a really fun time.”
Her main goal at CMU is to join a study abroad program and attend school outside of the states.
“I’d like to study abroad sometime during my education, like my sophomore year,” Marcus said. “I want to travel somewhere else like Greece, Africa, Spain and Italy. I really want to travel the world.”
