Sound Off! with Charlotte Belshe

Charlotte Beshe
12/2/11

Looking for the right college may or may not be just one of the most stressful experiences that I have ever been through. Let’s just say that decision-making isn’t a real strength of mine. I even have a hard time deciding between popcorn or peanut butter M&Ms at the movies. First-world problem—I know.  My college search process started my junior year of high school. I began to visit schools in various states such as California, Washington and Oregon. At first, I was more excited about the vacation aspect of the travels rather than the pursuit for education that my parents saw in these investments, but as I visited different campuses and spoke to various students, college counselors, family members and friends ,they all began to lecture me about the criteria I should be looking for in my future college.

Between emphasizing the importance of academic rigor, encouraging me to find a place where I could truly get involved among various other suggestions everyone always concluded their advice with these words of wisdom: you will just know. I’m sorry, what? I will just know? False: the last time I thought I just knew that something had to be right was when Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears started dating and my worlds collided. As much as I love some classic throwback tunes, their relationship did not live up to the musical expectations I thought they would be capable of together. So being told that I would just know wasn’t the best advice … or so I thought until I came to Jewell.

Originally I was not particularly drawn to Jewell’s campus. I was born and raised in Colorado and wanted to go somewhere exotic like San Diego or Seattle—to say the least I was not particularly interested in flying out to Missouri to visit a school about the size of my graduating high school class, but little did I know that the short flight from Denver to Kansas City was about to become a regular one for me. My parents were very impressed with the school and finally encouraged me to visit the campus.

Sure enough, when I got to Jewell, I just knew that there was something special about this small college up on the Hill. My admissions counselor, Amanda, greeted me with a hug and asked all about my junior prom, which was weeks before my visit. This was the first interaction I had with an admission counselor who wasn’t concerned with rattling off riveting statistics and talking about how my test scores would fit right in—she actually cared about me. The more I learned about William Jewell the more I began to like it. Even though my time here on the Hill has had its ups and downs I wouldn’t trade my college experience for anything. After hearing all about my friends’ college experiences across the country and thinking about my own, I consider myself to be so blessed.

This year I have had the wonderful opportunity to be a part of the Cardinal Blazers program and share my love for the campus with prospective students and their parents by giving tours. Even though Jewell may not be the wild and crazy place that so many high school seniors think college should be, it is a wonderful place. I enjoy sharing all of the fun facts and statistics throughout the tour, but my favorite part of giving tours is telling “prospies” about the little things like playing baseball on the bricks with my resident director’s kids after dinner, sledding down Browning Bowl on caf trays, Lighting of the Quad, flash mobs in the Union and everything in between. If anything I have learned that every once in a while you should step back and appreciate the small things in life and joy will overcome you, and whenever I can conclude a tweet about my day with the infamous “only at Jewell” hashtag I feel a personal sense of pride in being a part of William Jewell College. The Jewell experience is unlike anything else.