by Keegan Malan 

I attended PUC from January 2023 to December 2024, for nearly two years. I took all sorts of classes while pursuing my bachelor’s degree. I ate in the dining commons, played some intramural sports, and eventually graduated. Before I came, I had no clue what PUC was like, even though one of my siblings had attended and graduated, so I went in blind. 

It was strange that first day, being dropped off at the dorms and finding that I was with someone I’d never met before, and we were sharing rooms. I was antsy all that day, waiting for night, dreading morning when classes would begin. I’d written all my classes down on a note, including the halls and rooms they would be in, so I wouldn’t forget. For the first two weeks, heck, the first quarter, I was still nervous, and used that note to get to and from class. It was hard. And it was cold and wet, and I wasn’t yet used to the cafeteria food. It takes longer to get used to that; to get used to getting meals regularly from it and eating enough so you don’t lose weight walking up and down all the stairs around campus. It was the first thing I got used to, though. It’s always helpful to buy a few snacks from the Grind to bring with you from class to class and snack on in-between. 

No matter the degree you pursue, you have to take a variety of classes that, quite frankly, you don’t like at the time, and some you never will. I did enough complaining during the entirety of my academic career that would’ve made the wandering Israelites blush. It’s important, though, to keep perspective. I always found it helpful to focus on the classes you truly enjoyed, which, in my case, were all my English classes, as I am an English major. Focusing on something like that, or thinking of good memories of family and friends, or even little things, which for me was thinking about some books and movies I love, can help reset the stress and anxiety levels that sometimes go through the roof in college. It always worked for me. Even if it was just a brief respite, it helped.

Once you get used to the campus and how it works, you discover some things you didn’t really see before. PUC isn’t exactly a large college. There aren’t too many people attending, and so the student-to-teacher ratio is quite small. For an English major, it’s much smaller; there were plenty of classes where there were fewer than 10 students in attendance. This inevitably results in a rather intimate environment, where you know the names of every student and where the professor talks to you regularly. 

I came from a high school very similar in size and ratio, and for me, this was perfect. This way, I could communicate freely, ask as many questions as I could, and get to know the teacher on a friendly level, where I understood them, and they understood me. Of course, it also means you can’t just sit back in class silent as can be, but that’s fine. When you have to engage, you loosen up a bit, especially when there are fewer people around you, and you know them better, and life becomes easier, and it did for me. 

After the first quarter, with the weather changing from the seemingly perpetual overcast and morning fog to a much warmer, sunnier day, I started to feel better about myself and college in general. Good weather does help your mood, it seems. I took fun classes related to my degree, some not related but fun all the same, and I went back to the same teachers as before, now with a quarter’s worth of experience and knowledge. And with each passing quarter, I got more and more confident. 

Once it all became second nature, it was a better way to drive. You’re driving for the first time, and you’re all antsy and focused on obeying the rules of the road. Then you get your license, and after a while, driving becomes no big deal. Well, with college, it’s like that, except you are always engaged because you are learning new things, you just have a leg up on it, is all. That way it’s fun, it’s exciting. You still have worries, stresses, “will I ever graduate,” and so on, but those tend to be fleeting; you’ll forget them in a short while. You will graduate if you study hard and pay attention in class; it’s pretty simple in that regard. 

For the nearly two years I was in attendance at PUC, I honestly had a great time. I took many great classes with teachers I will never forget. How could it be when sometimes it was only me in them in class (more English majors please!), and we could talk to each other like we weren’t teacher and student but just a pair of people with shared interests? And, especially during spring and fall, I loved the weather. It was pretty hot to start fall quarter, but I love the environment all the same. It’s so green, and the air’s so clean. Sometimes I would see deer walking by the track or PUC prep. I mean, come on, that’s pretty cool. I made friends, met my wife, and enjoyed all the good things in life that I wouldn’t have found elsewhere. I love PUC, I love what it did for me, and what it’s doing for me now. It took some time, but it was worth it in the end.