It has only been one week into this semester and I already feel as though I have been here forever. My classwork is piling up, I am juggling responsibilities of two jobs and I am sick as a dog. Woof.

But the last week or so has made me incredibly reminiscent of my first semester at Quinnipiac.  The year was 2008.  York Hill was a construction nightmare.  Juniors still lived on the Mount Carmel campus.  And Java John served coffee at the Starbucks in the café (yes, there was Starbucks).

I moved into my triple in Irma that August, scared out of my mind.  I needed this to be different than high school.  Of course, my face completely breaking out the night before didn’t boost my confidence, but I still went in hopeful that I would come out of this experience a different person.

If you are new to the community, I encourage you to go to programs on campus. Quinnipiac University After Dark and the Student Programming Board always host a number of fun activities every weekend. Not to mention attending programs in your own residence halls, which are perfect ways to meet new people as well.

Not many people knew me freshman year. However, the one person who did know me and is still here (hi Julie) could probably attest to the fact that Quinnipiac changed me for good.

I joined The Chronicle my first week on campus as the Assistant Arts & Entertainment Editor. While I made friends with my floor back in the residence hall, I found myself hanging out with my buddies on the editorial board.

We all worked toward a common goal of re-building a newspaper that was nothing at the time. I will always have fond memories of spending hours in the newspaper office all weekend to make sure the newspaper got to the printer on Monday nights.

I almost transferred my freshman year, but I stayed for the newspaper. My friend Mary-Catherine was the life and styles editor and asked me to go to the last RA informational session second semester. A few weeks later I got hired to become an RA, which led me to some of the best people I ever met.

I don’t know how my path might have changed if I scaled back my involvement at the beginning of college. I might have never become an RA my sophomore year or ran the newspaper my senior year.

Whether you are a freshman new to campus or a senior ready to graduate in May, I encourage you to get involved if you are not already. You contribute so much to the university and your own happiness.

Matt Busekroos is a graduate student studying interactive media. He is feeling particularly nostalgic this week. It might be the cold medicine.