I’ll never forget my first day as a transfer student to Lee in the fall of 2005.

After having moved hundreds of miles away from home and registering late, that first night on campus was horrible to boot. All night long I was jarred awake by train whistles that felt like they were in my third floor Nora Chambers dorm room.

When it wasn’t trains it was the food trucks for the dining hall which made their deliveries in the wee hours followed by the construction crews getting an early morning start on the newly renovated Walker Arena. I don’t think I slept more than four hours a night that first semester.

That next day I went to the wrong class and was so discouraged I didn’t try again for three days. Later that afternoon I sat in the Arby’s parking lot eating in my car with my little sister, trying to choke back the dry bread and tears just certain I had made a huge mistake.

Eventually, I did go to class, although I started a tradition of never attending class the first week as a memorial of the fall 2005. Kind of like a Passover of sorts, I wanted to remember why I did it.

That next semester I started getting better sleep and what had started out as an annoyance became what I liked most about Lee. There was always development and growth occurring on and around campus.

In my three years at Lee I saw building after building go up, renovations made and dorms built. Not only was their growth on the outside, but within the disciplines across campus as well.

Some of these improvements I got to take advantage of and others I will only hear of from those to come after me. But every graduate wants to know that there’s wasn’t the greatest generation, otherwise there will be no reason to come back to visit.

I learned that in life, nothing just remains stagnant, it is either growing stronger or weaker. Moving forward or backward. This lesson of stewardship and the pursuit of excellence is what I learned from my time at Lee.

Now that I have graduated and moved hundreds of miles away from Lee, I miss those train whistles, the dining hall and all the wonderful games I saw in the renovated Walker Arena. Walking out that first semester was like a little object lesson I will keep forever.

It was uncomfortable at times, but the personal growth I experienced during my time here is the reason I look forward to coming back to Lee as a graduate and will have a hand in my future successes in life.

Corrie McGee was a Summer 2008 Communications: journalism/media writing graduate and the former managing editor of the Lee Clarion.