I always knew I would come to UNCW. Heck, the only application I completed was to UNCW (looking back, that was not a good idea). And to be honest, I didn’t have a strong reason to come here. However, four-and-a-half years later, I know I was supposed to be here.
That feeling was reassured when I entered the Communication Studies Major. The major facilitated opportunities for me to grow and learn. I tried to make the most of these opportunities because I know the experience I gained from them will pay-off later. Being able to apply my knowledge in classes is something I will not take for granted.
It hasn’t really hit me yet that I will be leaving friends, classmates and professors that I’ve built strong relationships with. And that will be the hardest part. But the things I’ve learned from them will stay with me forever.
Looking forward, I know the skills I’ve obtained at UNCW and the COM major will propel me to where I want to be. For this, I am forever grateful.
Go do great things, class of 2015!
Oh, and happy birthday to me!
– Patrick
IMC Hawks Blog 
Happy Birthday! I completely agree, when I decided to come here I had no idea why I really decided to come here or what I would end up doing but I knew that it would all fall into place. The COM department has played a huge role in me finding what I do and do not want to do in the future and I will always appreciate the time I have had here at UNC Wonderful!
Congratulations on making it to the end of your undergraduate experience! I am graduating in May and am nervous about what the future holds so I could only imagine the combination of excitement and fear you are experiencing now. Like you, I am grateful for the lessons I have learned throughout my college years and hope they will be useful in the future. I think you and I are very fortunate to have studied communication, because the discipline teaches you a lot about making sense of the world around you and determining the best way to navigate that world.
Also, happy belated birthday!
I’m on the four and a half year plan as well my friend and am not regretting taking my time.. Although my wallet might disagree. However similar to your almost mishap of only applying to one school, I only applied to two, App state and UNCW. To this day I wonder how my life may have been effected had I made the other decision (as I got into both) but deep down I have also come to realize this was the right choice for me in the end. Congrats on making it out!
Happy birthday, man! I wanted to come to UNCW from the moment I came on a tour. I actually had a friend here so when the tour got boring (almost immediately), I ditched it and hung out with him and he showed me around! I only applied at UNCW and I hope and prayed that I’d get in. Obviously I did and it’s super weird to look back on the last few years because they’ve flown by so quickly.
Well congratulations on finishing college and Happy Birthday to you! I look forward to when I graduate next year and get to join the work world and apply the skills we are learning in class and through internships. I think the most comforting thing about graduating as a Com major is knowing that your skills are going to translate to whatever field we chose to work in. I know a lot of my friends graduating this year have job anxiety. Sure, I’m going to have some too when the time for me to leave comes but I have confidence in knowing as a Com major I can get whatever I set my mind to because of the skills taught at UNCW. Good luck as you enter real life!
That’s awesome that you had such a great experience here and that you knew exactly which school you wanted to attend! It took me a while to figure that out so I am impressed when people say they always knew they were going to come here. It’s comforting that you got so much out of being a COM major here. I can’t wait to explore my own opportunities within the major in the upcoming semesters.
P.S. I hope you had a nice birthday and congratulations on completing your degree!
The only application I filled out was UNCW! I knew this was the place for me back when I was in the 8th grade. I’m so glad to be at this university because there is no better place. I hope you had an amazing time here. Good luck in the future and congratulations!
I already loved your post before reading it, purely because of the Spongebob reference. Good job. We are actually a lot alike other than Spongebob watching, in the sense that we were set on coming to UNCW. I am a out-of-state transfer student, and knew I wanted to come here the moment I hit senior year of high school, so I kept in touch with UNCW the entire process! Was the only application I filled out. Congrats on making it to graduation, and hope everything goes well for you!
This reminds me a lot of myself. I should be finishing this summer and I can’t stop thinking about watching all of my friends graduate and having to leave all of my friends that will be staying in Wilmington. I hope I can stay in Wilmington but if I can’t I am going miss it like crazy.
I always thought it was such an incredible phenomenon how someone can walk onto a college campus and know it was the place that they were destined to be at. I, personally, did not have that experience. As an out of state student, I applied to 12 schools, and made my decision by purely weighing the pros and cons of each university. Seeing stories like yours, where your gut instinct led you to a school where you found so much success, makes me very happy. I wish you the best of luck in all of your future endeavors, and I am sure that everything you have learned here at UNCW will lead you to even more success.
I too found myself wanting to come to Wilmington and not really applying anywhere else. For me, I knew the second day after moving in that I was where I was supposed to be. I graduate next year and don’t want to think about the fact I’ll be leaving UNCW and will have to start a career/ actually be an adult. Good luck to you and happy belated birthday!
First, Happy Late Birthday! I transferred here and definitely had the same feeling when I first came to UNCW, but I found it pretty homey in the COM Department. 🙂
I love the spongebob reference. It’s crazy how nostalgia hits you all at once. “Are you feeling it now Mr. Crabs?” Good luck with what challenges the future brings you!
I had the exact same experience! The only school i applied to was UNCW and I also wasn’t very sure why I decided to come or what I wanted to do with my life. When I started COM I felt a strong sense of purpose and started to realize that this was what I was good at! For this, I will always be grateful for my experiences at UNCW because helped guide me to find something I really loved.
Congrats Patrick! Good luck and best wishes to you and your future! I honestly cant believe how fast the past few years have blown by. Im so glad I decided to major in COM and I have you to look up to.