By From the inching dread of freshman year, through the rigors of COVID-19, and out from the underbelly of senior classes, Molly McWade has spent her years at Carroll traversing nearly every obstacle the campus could throw at her. As she prepares to speak at commencement 2023, McWade notes that it was the many diverse experiences at Carroll that have prepared her to represent her class.
“I think Carroll kind of has been this surprise,” said McWade. “You go in and you’re expecting to come out with friends you think you’ll talk to forever. But really, it’s been an environment in which you have a lot of freedom to discover who you are, what you value in other people, and what other people value in you.”
McWade, a senior biology major from Brea, California, was chosen via an anonymous vote to speak at graduation. As an active member of campus, McWade graduated in December of 2022 and has since been working at St. Peter’s Health as a medical assistant.
During the dual semesters of her freshman year, however, McWade struggled to gain a foothold on campus.
“It was weird to move away from family and friends and just be nervous about finding your people,” said McWade. “I was nervous I wouldn’t be able to do that. I was the kind of student who would call their mom every night and not go out of their way to meet people because I didn’t think they would like me.”
As a freshman living in St. Charles, McWade felt separated from the communities Guadalupe Hall helps to inspire and build among new students. McWade found her freshman classes flew by with ease, further separating her from students who might have developed communities around study groups and schedules.
This changed, however, with the advent of COVID-19 and the resulting lockdown.
“I think Sophomore year was a huge turning point in how much I enjoyed being at Carroll,” McWade continued. “Just coming back from COVID and being in person created a sense of comradery after everyone had settled into place. I feel like COVID almost brought people together in sharing a lot of that experience.”
Now, having fully stepped from her shell, McWade feels delighted to have been chosen by the campus community.
“It’s a big honor,” McWade said. “It’s a bit daunting just trying to represent and say something that everyone can relate to. But I don’t have a set job coming out of this, so to be one of those people who doesn’t have the future set in stone helps me to understand that challenge.”
More than anything, McWade wishes to demonstrate just how much of a life-changing experience Carroll can be.
“I think that being at Carroll means you’re not the same person who you were when you walked in that first day,” McWade explained. “I think that’s really important because it’s really easy to overlook how different you are from move-in day when everyone was taking your stuff upstairs. We were pushed to go out of our comfort zone, and to see that even then Carroll can be a place of comfort.”
As her time at Carroll ends, McWade plans on returning home to California. Having spent her last semester working at St. Peter’s, she plans to continue working in the medical field until she feels ready to apply for PA (physician’s assistant) school.
As she says her final goodbyes, McWade says Carroll’s greatest assets are its teachers.
“I feel like a big thing definitely is how good the professors are,” said McWade. “That’s really made my experience here. The professors will go out of their way to make sure you’re OK and that you’re doing what you need to be doing. They just care so much, and it’s really contagious.”
