Temple is a very special place for so many people. It is a place students call home during their time there and a place where faculty members have the chance to help young people succeed. While hard work and stress can make the experience seem bad, there are things that students miss once they graduate.
If you never had a meltdown at the Tech Center, did you even go to Temple? This place is where many students worked on assignments, especially ones that include specific software. Many times, the computers did not act as we thought they should and we saw hours of work crumble in seconds as the software or computers crashed. Somehow, we made it through and actually miss those moments.
It is an unspoken rule that if you go to Temple, you have to go to Richie’s at least once in your student career. For many, this turns into going several times a week. Some even go multiple times a day, once for coffee and possibly breakfast and again for lunch. News reporter Vernon Odom even ate there at least once! This place is a campus staple and graduates will often go back to visit after they graduate.
This is not so true when it is cold or rainy, but the bell tower and Beury Beach are the go-to outdoor hangouts for many students. Many take their laptops and homework assignments outdoors while others use this time to hang out with friends during downtime. There were many people you saw there regularly and there always seemed to be something going on. This place was always buzzing with activity and graduates miss that.
Center City Philadelphia is easily accessible, no matter how you choose to get there. If you drive, it is a simple drive down Broad Street. For those who rely on public transportation, there is a subway stop and a Regional Rail station on campus, each of which will get you to Center City’s shopping and history with ease. This is a great thing because it allows students to work or intern in Philadelphia or just visit.
Having friends on campus is what makes the college experience so memorable. It is likely that certain classmates will become lifelong friends, but you will also meet people outside of the classroom who will have a lasting impact on you. You will also befriend those in your hallway if you live in a dorm at all, and student organizations will give you lifelong contacts that have seen you grow as a person.
Temple faculty members and professors are often experts in their fields who have worked in what they teach. This allows them to speak on personal stories that happened to them and to share these experiences with you, allowing you to learn. They also have contacts in the field, which they may bring in as guest speakers or point you towards if you are looking for internship or job opportunities. These people want you to succeed, even if they seemed really tough on you.
www.temple-news.comWhile Insomnia Cookies are no exclusive to Temple’s campus, having one located nearby was helpful when you were having existential crises in the middle of the night or if you wanted to send a box to a friend going through a rough time. They were once a food truck located near the Student Center, but they moved to Morgan Hall.
There were few times you felt prouder to be a Temple Owl than when you attended a sporting event. Whether you attended a live game or a viewing party, being around so many people who were cheering for your school brought you so much joy. You loved being able to shout “I BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE WON!” after every victory and recite “Fight, fight, fight for the cherry and the white” at the top of your lungs.
Again, being around so many people getting pumped to support your school is energizing and uplifting. The cheerleaders, dance team, and marching band brought out everyone’s school spirit. The homecoming pep rallies were the most fun, with golf cart decorating and homecoming royalty. Remember the time Wyclef Jean performed at the 2017 homecoming pep rally?
www.temple-news.comTemple squirrels are the best squirrels ever, hands down. They are known for climbing into trashcans and begging students for food. If the students did not willingly hand over food, the squirrels would take the food if the student was not looking. Temple squirrels also have their own hashtag on Instagram (#BrazenUbanNinjaSquirrels), which is fitting!
While you may pass security guards day in and day out, there are a few that you likely came to know fairly well over the years. You may have talked to one when you needed directions and that simple act of kindness blossomed into a friendship. A simple smile and “How are you?” as you passed into the Tech Center made the tasks at hand seem more bearable.
For many students, college is a time of high levels of stress, anxiety, and depression. Luckily for Owls, we had the Tuttleman Counseling Services right on campus. This service has online resources as well as an office with mental health professionals available for free to help struggling students navigate the lows of college.
www.temple-news.comWhether you joined a fraternity/sorority, an organization related to your major, or even started your own student organization, these activities made you a better person by allowing you to take on leadership. Even if you attempted to start a club and it fell through for whatever reason, the experience of going through the process is still important and made you stronger.
Okay, okay, they were a little bit annoying when you felt like you were being judged as you were simply walking to your next destination. However, you were at least a bit amused at what they were saying and you probably had at least one conversation about them with classmates or professors. You actually kind of miss having the humor when you graduate.
www.temple-news.comThis past school year alone, two world records were broken. One was the most socks donated to charity and the other was the most mismatched socks worn in a single location. The school year before this past one, the world record for the most peanut butter and jelly sandwiches made by a group was broken. These experiences were fun and memorable while giving back to the community.
Whether it was AV Newsgathering or Philadelphia Neighborhoods for journalism majors or a capstone course, you probably had at least one or two classes throughout your college career that made you second-guess your career choice. However, you were able to live to tell the tale and you know it made you a better person.
Your classmates were the people you saw every day and who are likely your competitors in the job market. Seeing what they have accomplished so far has made you want to be a stronger person and a better job candidate in your field. Their successes have shown you what you are capable of and have pushed you to attempt to accomplish many of the same things.
Whether you worked in Center City or interned in Doylestown, your job or internship was a fairly simple commute away from campus, even if it was long. Driving was not necessarily required. This made life simple and gave you time to get stuff done on the subway or train. If you have to drive to your summer job, you will appreciate Septa a little extra.
If you live in the suburbs or in a rural area, it is likely that you are not exposed to as much diversity as you are in the city. Temple is home to students from across the country and around the world. This allows students to be exposed to different ways of thinking and new cultures to learn from and be inspired by.
From the moment we step foot on campus, we can sense the overwhelming amount of excellence that is prominent on campus. We pass by students studying in the halls. We see students doing work in labs. We hear students discuss internships and conferences and so many other amazing things that show us what we are capable of. The atmosphere of Temple is one that is always buzzing and is energizing. We all miss it when we graduate.
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