Coming Home

By Genevieve Buthod

Coming Home

The more I travel back and forth for school breaks, the more I come to realize that I’m starting to see Chicago as a second home. I was sad to get back on the bus leaving St. Louis this past Sunday, but I noticed that as soon as I crossed the Mississippi River back into Illinois, I was excited to be going back to school. There are so many opportunities for me here that I may not have had a chance to pursue if I had stayed in my hometown for college (or the rest of my life, for that matter). One of the things that made me feel at home when I returned to this city was that the shuttle service extended its hours that night to accommodate traveling students. I was so worried about getting back to school because my bus pulled into Union Station at around 10 p.m., and the L would only take me so far. Thankfully, there was a Saint Xavier shuttle bus waiting at Midway to pick me up when I got there! I felt so taken care of by the school, in a way that may be difficult to understand for students who come from around the area.

My experience gave me just another example of the ways SXU extends that extra welcome to out of town students. I feel like I actually matter to this university, as an individual, and I don’t know that I would feel that way if I was just a number at a huge school. Another way I felt the warmth extended by Saint Xavier was in the way I was treated my first day back at the newspaper office. We all jumped back into work the first day back from break in order to pull together this year’s final issue. Even amidst all the hectic work being done, my boss went out of his way to encourage me, tell me to keep up the good work, and let me know about the higher-level positions available for next semester that I should consider applying for. This school makes me feel like I have a name, not just a set of qualifications. It doesn’t just look at what I have accomplished; it takes the time to see what I could achieve in the future and pushes me towards those goals. Just another thing to be thankful for this year.

Genevieve Buthod is a sophomore, and a double major in computer science and philosophy. She is a women’s studies minor, and thinking about a music minor as well. Genevieve is an officer in the Alliance (the GSA) and is a happy, healthy vegan. She is also involved with the Students for Justice in Palestine.