Reflections of future alumni

Written by Sarah Penner and Dylan Campion, Conrad Grebel University College 2013 Grad Class Reps.

As we finish our undergraduate careers at Conrad Grebel, we’ve been invited to reflect back on our experiences and what makes us excited to give back to the community we’ve called home for the past four (or five) years. It’s going to be hard to put into words, but we’re going to do our best!

We each began separate journeys as bright-eyed frosh, ready to be amazed by life at Grebel. We learned to live away from our parents, became astute scholars (we guess…), and stretched our bellies to accommodate the consumption of as much delicious food as we could handle. We built friendships under the infamous peaked roofs of Grebel, one of the coolest pieces of architecture on campus.

As life at Grebel always is, friendships were a huge part of how a sense of camaraderie was built so quickly and flawlessly in our community. We first met during Sarah’s first year (in the fall of 2009) while Dylan was a Residence Don at Grebel. Just to be clear – this isn’t a “couples blog” – we’re actually dating each other’s best friend. Anyways, our friendship really began to grow the following year when we were Dons together.

Let’s be clear about one thing – it’s not that we feel like we have to give back because we were Dons. For us, we want to give back to Grebel because the funds we contribute towards the 2013 Grad Class challenge will allow Grebel to continue to operate at the same exceptional level it operates at today. Grebel is one of, if not the best, home-away-from-home that any future Waterloo student could have.

What makes Conrad Grebel one of Waterloo’s best-kept secrets is the tightknit community. 142 first- and second-year students live in residence, with students from every faculty calling Grebel home. Mix that group in with the 32 third- and fourth-year students who live in the only on-campus apartment complex and you’ve got something great! If our 2013 Grad Class contributions can help one future Grebel student, it’s been worth our support. This is what gets us really excited!