BY JOSHUA M. SMITH
Lions’ Pride Online Editor

Good news, my faithful readers! This is the last time you’ll have to hear me go on a tirade about the lack of campus parking spaces. Indeed, the painfully sparse allotment of spaces has been a thorn in my side for many a Tuesday and Thursday afternoon class. I will not miss circling and circling for a spot where my high-performance machines might enjoy a much deserved rest. Saint Leo’s ill-advised parking scheme will trouble me no longer!

And that’s the only thing about Saint Leo I will not miss once I graduate next week.

Truth be told, I don’t really want to leave Saint Leo. It may sound corny, but I truly do love the person I’ve become here.

I started Saint Leo in the fall of 2006 as a transfer student, and a non-traditional one at that. Though the campus is relatively small, I was intimidated by it and its students, the vast majority of which were ten years younger than myself.

I leave Saint Leo with more friends than I can keep track of.

Saint Leo has afforded me the chance to do things I never thought I would get the chance to do. Writing these opinion pieces is one of them. I’ve always been a man of strong opinions, but I’ve never had a public outlet for them. I worried that my views would alienate me, and I was surprised and affirmed when students and faculty began stopping me around campus to compliment my editorials.
You see, I came back to higher education believing that my conservative views would make me a target among students and faculty. What I found, though, was acceptance and tolerance. No professor ever tried to force his or her political views upon me, and when I disagreed with the views they shared, they made room for intelligent debate rather than condescending lecture. Politics never got in the way of the academics.

What will I miss about Saint Leo? It’s the little things that I will miss most, I think: sitting in Trane Stop reading a book while waiting between classes; enjoying a coffee in the library’s reading area with fellow students; giving a fist-to-fist “pound” to Cecilia when we agree on something; teasing Caitlin to make her feel guilty about skipping class; eating too much pizza in the cafeteria; meeting with the editors and staff of The Lions’ Pride.

I’ll also miss the faculty, who have been, without exception, kind, generous, patient, knowledgeable, funny, insightful, and supportive. I’ve gained a respect for the teaching profession I did not have prior to attending Saint Leo, and it is due to this university’s outstanding faculty and staff.

In the fall, I will continue my academic career at the University of South Florida in their English, Rhetoric and Composition program. In many ways, it’s like starting over with the same anxieties, fears, and insecurities. However, I move on knowing that I can succeed, which is a lesson I learned at Saint Leo University and one that I will never forget.

Thank you all for reading, for your friendship, for your support, and for making this university such an important institution in my life. I wish you all the best of luck in the future.

Godspeed.