Maria Perez-Ramirez ’23, a Strategic Communication major from Tiffin, Ohio, chose Marietta College as her “home away from home” because of the impact it made on her during a visit as a senior in high school. “I was very nervous and did not know what to expect from here, but I quickly realized how warm and welcoming the environment is here on campus.”
Beyond the beautiful campus environment, Maria notes that the students, faculty, and staff made her feel like Marietta College was a place she could call “home.” With their support, she could explore her interests and future career paths. For her, “Marietta College is a safe space where it supports its students to go after their goals, and this quality is what makes Marietta College an ideal place to go to thrive both as a student and as a person.”
Maria believes that one of the many reasons Marietta College was the right fit for her was because of how easy it is to pursue experiential learning opportunities—internships, work-study jobs, organizations and clubs on campus, and even mentoring relationships with staff and faculty. And to extend these opportunities, she hopes to see flexible spaces on campus designated for students to gather and collaborate. This would allow not only academic team-based project work, but also student organization meetings, learning and event space, and opportunities to interact with her peers, her faculty, staff, and alumni. For students like Maria, a redesigned Student Center would serve as the heart of create collisions on campus: “I truly believe that the students would use it to the most of its ability.”
