“Keep a good head about you, keep one eye on the future and remember that life isn’t always going to be like this!”

Article by Gracie Petrelli, OUS Blog

VILLANOVA, PA [OUS] - BRIDGE Society President and Villanova University Sophomore Mariana Marquez from Tucson, Arizona had always known she wanted to attend college on the east coast, and Villanova just so happened to be the perfect place for her. “The first time I visited Villanova, I remember that I was so tired and out of my element because of the time difference!” Mariana says. “It wasn’t necessarily a place that I always had in mind—it was kind of happenstance that this checks all the boxes of all the things I wanted. Looking back, I marvel at the fact that I got so lucky, and I have no doubts that this was the right place for me!”

For Mariana, being far from home is more of an adventure than a lesson in homesickness. “Going to the other side of the country was something that I always knew I wanted to do,” she says. “That feeling of going to the airport by myself and showing up to campus alone, that complete independence, was so exhilarating. I think that gives me a slightly different dimension than most people that come to Villanova that live close by. In a way, it’s a much bigger adventure for me than it is for other people, but it doesn’t feel like it’s stretching my capabilities, it just feels like this was what was meant to happen.”

With a major in economics and potential minor in political science, Mariana had the opportunity to learn more about her field of interest through a work opportunity at a rather unexpected place. “Last summer, I had a pretty interesting job—I came home and worked at a family friend’s dermatology practice, which I never expected would be on my resume. I’m an econ major, what business would I have doing dermatology stuff?” she jokes. “It was super interesting. I did a lot of practice management stuff, so a lot of behind-the-scenes management things, but I also got to do things like work in the lab testing all the samples and things like that. It was really cool to see what it was like running the business side of something that makes a really important impact on people.”

Her experience in the office has also opened up a new interest that she would like to continue learning more about. “There’s a class that’s taught at Villanova called the Economics of Healthcare that I really want to take after that,” she says. “In the current moment, we’re learning a lot about the medical system, and having a little bit of experience working in a doctor’s office has helped me understand it. It was a really cool experience that I never would have thought that I would have enjoyed!”

On campus, Mariana is a member of the Blue Key Society, the Vice President of Standards in her sorority Kappa Delta, and is currently the President of the BRIDGE Society. “It’s one of the things that I think has brought a lot of value to my life,” says Mariana. “You learn to network and talk to alumni, which is something that you don’t really learn in high school. Villanova alumni are one of the biggest assets of the school, and being able to have those conversations and ask questions to people who are so open and willing to talk has been amazing.”

Mariana’s involvement in the BRIDGE Society began with an issue of the daily Wildcat Newswire and the decision to try something new as a freshman. “I saw this thing in my email and I was like, ‘If I went to this, and my dad found out that I went to this, he would be so proud of me!’” she says. “I went, and I ended up being the last student there. Kate Szumanski came up to me with former BRIDGE President, Andrew McKeough, and they were like, ‘We’re looking to have more outreach to freshmen, and you carry yourself really well. We’re really impressed that you’re here as a freshman so early in the year, and we were wondering if you would like to be on the Executive Board as Vice President.’ I was like, ‘Absolutely!’”

“One of the really important things is the relationships that you get to build,” says Mariana. “Like Kate Szumanski—she’s incredible. She’s such a huge cheerleader for you, and I decided that BRIDGE Society was so important to me especially so I could keep my relationship with her. She’s such a presence, and I don’t know anybody else that is that positive all the time—I don’t know how she does it! I would have never been able to meet her and be as close with her if I didn’t jump on the opportunity to meet her and be a part of BRIDGE Society.”

Mariana says relationships like these are her favorite part about being at Villanova. “Everyone I’ve ever met at Villanova, whether it’s friends that become just like family,  or professors or mentors or advisors or alumni, all of them are ready to help you with whatever they can, to remind you that you’re capable of success, and to help cheer you on and give you any tools that you may need to make that happen,” she says. “It’s interactions like these that make me realize I’m really lucky to be a part of something that people love so much that they’ll come back to help.”

As she approaches the halfway point of her Villanova journey, Mariana is keeping the future in mind and wants Villanova to continue to be a part of it. “I think my goal is to have a job after graduation that makes me feel like I’m moving up in the world and working on something, but also to be able to see my friends from school and be around people that I love,” she says. “College has brought me a lot of perspective into what it is that I want, and what I want is to feel fulfilled but in more than just my career. I think it’s a very important thing that Villanova will help to grow all parts of you, and that’s something that’s become so important to me.”

Especially in light of the current situation, Mariana encourages her fellow Villanovans to appreciate everything Villanova has to offer even more when we return to campus. “I think the two most important things I would say would be to keep a good perspective and to soak everything up while you can,” she says. “Keep a good head about you, keep one eye on the future and remember that life isn’t always going to be like this! Go to the speakers, go to the clubs, go out with your friends, go to everything you can, because you are being given opportunities right now that not many people get, and that you should take every advantage of while you can. Learn as much as you can in all aspects of life—about your major, about other majors, about the world, because as much as we hate to think about it, our days at Villanova are numbered. Keep that in mind, and make Villanova proud!”

[Article originally published by Gracie Petrelli in
MyOUS Blog on April 26, 2020]