MAY 8, 2025 | OPINION | By Fiona Frankel
The week before I left for my first year last August, I ran into Anya Potsiadlo ‘27 at a music festival, who was leaving a few days later for Priddy Leader training. “Wow,” I remember thinking, “who’d want to return to school early? And to lead orientation?”
During the first month of CC, I met an upperclassman in my adjunct class whom I spoke to about her experience so far at the school. She told me she loves CC so much that she hates the summertime, as it’s just a hurdle to returning for another year. Having barely begun my first week of real classes, I could not have felt more alienated from this sentiment.
And yet, I feel the exact same way eight months later as my first year comes to an end. Though I could admittedly use a break from academics, I’m also desperate to skip over this summer and return for another year in August.
As a gap year student, I spent the following year and a half after committing to CC questioning my decision. During the winter of my year off, my high school sent me a letter congratulating me on finishing my first semester at Colorado State University. I had to explain to countless people throughout my gap year that I was not, in fact, attending CU Boulder in the fall. And though I grew restless in the intermittent weeks and months throughout the year that I spent at home, the idea of moving away permanently was terrifying to me.
As the school year approached, I worried about prestige, homesickness and most of all, finding a community I felt at home in. Before I stepped foot on campus, I looked into transfer timelines. I felt relieved that I’d have to return home for an October Block Break to attend a family member’s wedding — if I hated it, at least I’d be back home soon.
And after all that, all I want at this moment is to skip over summer and come back for sophomore year. To any incoming first year, and as I wish I could tell my former self, you are so lucky to be where you are. My first year, particularly the first semester, has truly been the happiest experience of my life.
When my family visited in February, my brother commented on the kindness of those around us. “Why does everybody say hi to everybody here?” To contextualize, he has spent the last eight years on the East Coast. Friendliness is an inherent aspect of Colorado College — and the state as a whole — that I hardly notice anymore, yet it speaks to the nature of people at this school. The few unkind peers I have encountered stand out to me as anomalous to the CC population; it takes an effort to be unfriendly at this school, when nearly everyone around you is quick to say hello and form a connection.
I’ve struggled to identify to friends from home what exactly it is that makes CC so special. A large part, I’ve realized, has to be the Block Plan. Every student in class from nine to noon, meaning that as soon as the clock strikes 12:01 p.m., students are sunbathing on Tava Quad, playing intramural broomball games, hiking near Pikes Peak, eating in Rastall Dining Hall, attending Red Rocks concerts, swimming in Paradise Cove, all of which I’ve done with the most wonderful people I’ve ever come across.
Professors are likewise truly inspiring, inside the classroom and out. My First-Year Program professor stayed after class to discuss drug and immigration policy with me. My Block Three professor was one of the smartest people I have ever met, full of nuanced opinions and quick to challenge students to examine their preconceptions. My fourth block professor found a doctor to see me right away when I missed three days of class. My Block 5 professor still welcomes me into her office to have conversations for hours about any interpersonal issues I’m facing. Both teachers and students make this institution what it is.
This is not to say that the year has been perfect by any means. Like any first year, I’ve experienced inevitable pitfalls, some of which I’ve chronicled in The Catalyst as they’ve occurred (I don’t wish to relive my health crisis in November or my sixth block dorm feud). I have concerns regarding student culture and the school administration that I will continue seeking to address in the future. When I speak about kindness I’ve experienced from my peers, I am also writing as a white woman who has undoubtedly had a far different experience from other students dissimilar to me. So, while this is somewhat of an ode to my first year for those just beginning it this fall, it is also an encouragement.
I encourage incoming first years to recognize that they are in a place where they have the opportunity to improve. Students are what make Colorado College so special, and they can also easily change this quality based on their decisions. As I said above, you must go out of your way to be unkind at this school. Our small student body holds everybody accountable, and in the best way possible; it is difficult to let conflict go unaddressed when the same faces are present everywhere. In short, treat your peers with kindness.
And especially in the first month or two at school, I encourage you to challenge yourself. During Priddy Week, sit down with people you’ve never met before in Rastall. Make an effort to connect with your First-Year Program peers. Take classes you are genuinely interested in (I will truly never forget PS315: Elections). On move-in day, introduce yourself to your hall neighbors (I admittedly never did this). Orientation is intentionally uncomfortable, overwhelming and exhausting, but it is also the greatest opportunity for personal growth. Take advantage of this, take care of yourself, and remember how lucky you are to be here.