Freshman Year: Check!
Well. You left all your friends behind, you ended a two and a half year relationship before coming here because of the long distance, you just said your tearful goodbyes to your parents and your best friend, and you’re now in a giant room filled with people you don’t know. Pretend you’re not terrified; you only get one first impression. What are you going to do? Ready? Go.
That’s basically what was running through my head that first day I stepped into the band room for “Rookie Day” with the UC Bearcat Bands. Although I knew about ten other kids from my high school coming to UC, I was the only person that was signed up for band. As much I would like to think it didn’t show, I was so nervous. Why was I so nervous? Looking back at this year and thinking of all of the amazing times I had, it seems so silly that I was even scared in the first place. Little did I know, but that first day of band camp set the stage for everything else that I was blessed to experience during my first year at the University of Cincinnati. It’s an interesting journey from that day to the person I am today. So here we go.
The first event from my freshman year that really shaped who I am today would have to be the day I visited Union Terminal with my honors seminar class, “Music and Architecture: Correlation and Comparison.” When we pulled up to Union Terminal, I was awe-struck by its beauty. Later as we were about to leave, we were stopped by a loud music coming through the pipe organ in the building. The music was so incredibly loud and powerful that it shook the building. At this point in time, I realized a few things. First, I saw Dr. Milligan tear up a little with the music, and I realized that he is a professor unlike any other. From this day forward, I constantly compared every other course and teacher to “M&A” and Dr. Milligan because I now held a much higher standard for my education. Then, probably most importantly, I felt the power of this landmark and really started to appreciate the uniqueness of Cincinnati and realized that I had definitely made the right choice with UC and calling Cincinnati my new home.
That’s basically what was running through my head that first day I stepped into the band room for “Rookie Day” with the UC Bearcat Bands. Although I knew about ten other kids from my high school coming to UC, I was the only person that was signed up for band. As much I would like to think it didn’t show, I was so nervous. Why was I so nervous? Looking back at this year and thinking of all of the amazing times I had, it seems so silly that I was even scared in the first place. Little did I know, but that first day of band camp set the stage for everything else that I was blessed to experience during my first year at the University of Cincinnati. It’s an interesting journey from that day to the person I am today. So here we go.
The first event from my freshman year that really shaped who I am today would have to be the day I visited Union Terminal with my honors seminar class, “Music and Architecture: Correlation and Comparison.” When we pulled up to Union Terminal, I was awe-struck by its beauty. Later as we were about to leave, we were stopped by a loud music coming through the pipe organ in the building. The music was so incredibly loud and powerful that it shook the building. At this point in time, I realized a few things. First, I saw Dr. Milligan tear up a little with the music, and I realized that he is a professor unlike any other. From this day forward, I constantly compared every other course and teacher to “M&A” and Dr. Milligan because I now held a much higher standard for my education. Then, probably most importantly, I felt the power of this landmark and really started to appreciate the uniqueness of Cincinnati and realized that I had definitely made the right choice with UC and calling Cincinnati my new home.
Skipping ahead through a very exciting fall semester filled with great friends, good memories, and LOTS of band, my next most influential event came at the end of “process.” Let me explain. Every spring, the Theta chapter of Tau Beta Sigma, the national honorary band service sorority, gives bids to girls in the band who they believe exemplify outstanding characteristics that the sorority represents and values. I received my bid one night when I came back from a friend’s dorm and I remember being really confused at what was happening. I decided from that night to accept my bid and go through a seven week process of joining Theta. This seven week period was filled with stress from having to balance a very hard course load with yet another extracurricular activity but also introduced me to so many amazing women in the band. Specifically, I now had 17 candidate sisters that loved band as much as I did and had a passion for service that matched mine as well as well as 14 candidate brothers from the Upsilon chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi, the national band service fraternity, that shared the same goals. The night, though, that is my next influential event from this year is the last night of being a candidate. One specific moment that sticks out in my head was us all laying on the floor after finishing our test and laughing and celebrating. We didn’t even know that we all passed the test, but we were simply celebrating the fact that a few months ago, we didn’t even know each other and now have so many incredible memories to laugh about together for years to come. This moment changed me as a person because it made me remember how nervous I was that first day of band and seriously question why because I now had a new work ethic and responsibility that came from learning how to be a balanced individual during process, as well as so many great, life-long friends.
My last influential event came at the very end of my first year and ended up being my favorite moment from my first year, and that was when I was named a Drum Major for the Bearcat Bands. After participating in a Drum Major Workshop put on by the UC Drum Major Society (at the same time as process, for the record), the official tryout was the final step in the workshop. We had to prepare a set of commands for the “March Off” and also prepare a song to conduct, both for a 60 piece band. Needless to say, this was the most nervous I’ve EVER been for an audition. Later that week, band formal had arrived, where the new drum majors would be revealed. We finally got to the point in the night where Doc said the words “Now, I need to make the most important announcement: our new drum majors. We will have three new drum majors and one associate drum major.” I will never forget the most intense, chest-gripping silence that the entire room fell to. Everyone expected it when the names of our two associate drum majors from last year, Mitch Bleser and Melanie Richardson, were called, but I remember when the room totally erupted when Jamey McGinnis was called as the last full-time drum major and he burst into tears of absolute joy and excitement. Then, moment of truth: “….and Ashley Lengel.” At that point, the room got even LOUDER! I could hear all of my candidate sisters and brothers scream in excitement as I put my hands over my face in disbelief. I ran out of my chair in complete shock up to my big brother, Ben, and big sister, Laura, (my bigs from the sorority and two of last year’s graduating drum majors) and gave them huge hugs. It wasn’t until I heard Ben whisper out the words “She did it!” from choked back tears that I just burst into tears of joy and realized what I had just done: became the youngest drum major in UC history. I will never forget how excited I was when Laura put her own drum major whistle around my neck, passing it down to me, and she told me how absolutely proud she was of me. As we took pictures with tears in all of our eyes in front of the ecstatic band, I realized how much this moment had changed me and how far I had come. When I started this year, I knew no one. I was no one. Now, I had the highest leadership position in the band on top of a band council position, had 100 close friends from the fraternity and sorority, and a big brother and sister who always supported me and never let me fail. At the end of the night, so many people had come up to me to congratulate me, whether I had really talked to them that much or not, and I realized that I had been successful in my goal of reaching out to other people, making friends, and being pushed out of my comfort zone of trying for new things, and now I can’t wait for the future in the Bearcat Bands and at UC with that new confidence.
Through the University Honors Program, I was given so many incredible opportunities and able to accomplish so much. In HNRS1010, I learned how to approach my college experience in the best way and truly get the most out of it. I really had to focus on my goals and make a structured plan for my future at UC. I also learned that I have a very strong set of ideals and values. In class, we discussed many things about being a well-rounded person, and I realized that I am driven to follow my beliefs and that I have very high expectations out of my five years at the University of Cincinnati. Out of all of the assignments, I really enjoyed the “This I Believe” statement. This assignment required me to narrow down a value that I strive to follow most and express it in a way that is understandable to others. It also helped me put into words why I approach things that way that I do, which helped me ensure that I was happy with the way my life is going.
If there’s one thing I’ve really learned during my first year at UC, it’s that it isn’t possible to do everything. In high school, I was the kid that strived in academics, athletics, the arts, and community engagement. When I came to UC and started my education in engineering, I quickly learned that there aren’t enough hours in the week to go to classes (especially at such a tough caliber) and do well in them, study and do homework, play club tennis, eat, go to band rehearsals and performances, work in a research lab, go to church, and get good amounts of sleep. Something had to give. Unfortunately, I re-evaluated my commitments and analyzed my schedule, and had to cut out club tennis. There was no way I was going to be exhausted in my 8 am class the day after practice, miss Sunday evening mass with my friends and stress my faith, and stay up until 4:00 a.m. doing homework and skip eating. I love tennis, but this year, I had to cut something out. It was really important to learn this because at the rate I was going, I was absolutely exhausting myself. It ended up making some room for me to be more involved in the activities I had time for rather than just participating, which made me much more successful and happy in the long run. If there is anything that I could change, it would be that I definitely needed to take better care of myself. I found myself guilty several times of skipping eating and exercising to study, which while I needed to study, I gave up a big part of my health to do so, and that absolutely cannot happen again next year. A well-rounded experience is only worthwhile if I am being healthy doing so.
Through the University Honors Program, I was given so many incredible opportunities and able to accomplish so much. In HNRS1010, I learned how to approach my college experience in the best way and truly get the most out of it. I really had to focus on my goals and make a structured plan for my future at UC. I also learned that I have a very strong set of ideals and values. In class, we discussed many things about being a well-rounded person, and I realized that I am driven to follow my beliefs and that I have very high expectations out of my five years at the University of Cincinnati. Out of all of the assignments, I really enjoyed the “This I Believe” statement. This assignment required me to narrow down a value that I strive to follow most and express it in a way that is understandable to others. It also helped me put into words why I approach things that way that I do, which helped me ensure that I was happy with the way my life is going.
If there’s one thing I’ve really learned during my first year at UC, it’s that it isn’t possible to do everything. In high school, I was the kid that strived in academics, athletics, the arts, and community engagement. When I came to UC and started my education in engineering, I quickly learned that there aren’t enough hours in the week to go to classes (especially at such a tough caliber) and do well in them, study and do homework, play club tennis, eat, go to band rehearsals and performances, work in a research lab, go to church, and get good amounts of sleep. Something had to give. Unfortunately, I re-evaluated my commitments and analyzed my schedule, and had to cut out club tennis. There was no way I was going to be exhausted in my 8 am class the day after practice, miss Sunday evening mass with my friends and stress my faith, and stay up until 4:00 a.m. doing homework and skip eating. I love tennis, but this year, I had to cut something out. It was really important to learn this because at the rate I was going, I was absolutely exhausting myself. It ended up making some room for me to be more involved in the activities I had time for rather than just participating, which made me much more successful and happy in the long run. If there is anything that I could change, it would be that I definitely needed to take better care of myself. I found myself guilty several times of skipping eating and exercising to study, which while I needed to study, I gave up a big part of my health to do so, and that absolutely cannot happen again next year. A well-rounded experience is only worthwhile if I am being healthy doing so.
I remember being so nervous that I wouldn’t make friends at college because no one could compare to my old friends, but I am happy to say that I made a ton of great relationships during this first year. First, my roommates, Laura, Emma, and Haley, became three of my closest friends at school and made all the difference in my first year experience. Having roommates that constantly make you laugh, help you get ready for a dance, stay up with you when you’re crying about how stressed you are, and had the same values as I did really helped make the college transition easy and helped me be the best I can be. I also made four great friends from that very first day of band camp, Sam, Liz, Tim, and Austin. They are the kind of friends that make fun of your butt sweat during band camp, drop what they’re doing to go to CVS with you when you’re horribly sick, carry ten bags of groceries in each hand with a sheet cake and a couple two-liters of pop for a birthday party in your dorm, and bring you to tears when you find out one has a life-altering illness after only knowing them four months.
Also, I made an unbelievable connection with my bigs, Ben and Laura, after only the first few weeks of really knowing them. They are both 23 years old, five years older than me and at a completely different point in their lives, but were never reluctant to hang out with me, look out for me, and always give me advice, even if it was at 3:00 a.m. One night in particular reminds me of how much they care about me and how much I appreciate them. It was the night before the drum major audition and we were all at a band party having fun. It got to be 3:30 a.m. and I was just exhausted and overly stressed about the next day and had a complete meltdown about how nervous I was. Laura and Ben took me outside, assured me that I had put in the work to do well and expressed that they were so insanely proud of me. Laura just gave me the biggest hug and held it until I was pretty much cried out while Ben went inside and basically told my group to get out and go so I could get some rest. I honestly feel like I got the best two bigs that anyone could have asked for. Laura, in particular, has grown to be one of my closest friends and the older sister that I never had, while Ben is that big brother that interrogates you before your first date with a new guy, brings you food when you’re studying all night, and will always text you just to check in at any point of the day. I’ve looked up to both of them since day one, on the field and in our church (they both are devout Catholics, like me, and are so genuine in their faith) and I am so blessed to have them as my role models and friends. All of these connections that I have made have shaped my first year experience so much, making me want to be the best friend and person that I can be to deserve their friendship and have an absolute blast in school.
So there it is. I just barely scratched the surface of how incredible my first year of college was. Now what? How do I proceed from here? If there’s anything that college has taught me thus far, it’s that I need to have confidence in myself, whether it’s in my classes, in band, or in my community, and I feel that I have gained so much more of it than when I first moved into Turner Hall and stepped into the band room on that first day. I plan on taking my new comfort level at the university and in Cincinnati to be more involved in St. Monica-St. George church, try to at least attend a few meetings in some new student groups, and definitely work with new honors student as an honors ambassador to help them have the same amazing year that I did. Looking ahead for my next year, I have one piece of advice for myself: Take care of yourself! I am going to continue to overload myself with activities and work (I mean come on, that’s just me. Let’s be real.) but I am much more prepared to take the steps to keep myself healthy. I can’t believe the huge strides I’ve made since walking in that band room door as a terrified freshman and out the same doors only a year later as a Drum Major, and I absolutely can’t wait to walk in again in August with a new approach to life at UC. So what do you think? The UC Band is DAMN Good. What do you know? The UC Band is DAMN Good. DISMISSED.
So there it is. I just barely scratched the surface of how incredible my first year of college was. Now what? How do I proceed from here? If there’s anything that college has taught me thus far, it’s that I need to have confidence in myself, whether it’s in my classes, in band, or in my community, and I feel that I have gained so much more of it than when I first moved into Turner Hall and stepped into the band room on that first day. I plan on taking my new comfort level at the university and in Cincinnati to be more involved in St. Monica-St. George church, try to at least attend a few meetings in some new student groups, and definitely work with new honors student as an honors ambassador to help them have the same amazing year that I did. Looking ahead for my next year, I have one piece of advice for myself: Take care of yourself! I am going to continue to overload myself with activities and work (I mean come on, that’s just me. Let’s be real.) but I am much more prepared to take the steps to keep myself healthy. I can’t believe the huge strides I’ve made since walking in that band room door as a terrified freshman and out the same doors only a year later as a Drum Major, and I absolutely can’t wait to walk in again in August with a new approach to life at UC. So what do you think? The UC Band is DAMN Good. What do you know? The UC Band is DAMN Good. DISMISSED.