鈥淎provecha." This is a word that I heard almost constantly when I studied abroad in Sevilla, Spain, this past semester. It translates directly as 鈥渢ake advantage,鈥� but really is a command to 鈥渟eize the day.鈥� The Sevillanos use it in almost every context; you buy a coffee and the waitress says 鈥渁provecha鈥� instead of the typical 鈥渁dios.鈥�
As I鈥檝e reflected back on my four years in college, I鈥檝e come to realize that 鈥渁provecha鈥� is something that Witt has taught me to do every day. In the past four years, I鈥檝e served as budgeting & assessment chair of Union Board, treasurer of the class of 2018, Student Center programming manager, student representative for the Teaching Effectiveness Committee, Student Organization Senator, and Delta Gamma House manager. When I wasn鈥檛 partaking in my various campus involvement activities, I was working studiously as an undecided major鈥� then as a nursing major鈥� and finally, as a Spanish and finance double major. Needless to say, I鈥檝e taken advantage of every opportunity that Wittenberg has offered me and would like to provide my four years of sleep deprivation as proof.
Wittenberg has a way of challenging your beliefs and pushing you to improve yourself, not only academically, but also personally. It is in this way that I have taken the most advantage. My friends from high school tell me that I am unrecognizable in the best way, and I credit everyone here for transitioning me from a moody and self-conscious freshman to a confident and spirited senior.
Now, in my last semester of college, 鈥渁provecha鈥� has taken on a new meaning. I鈥檇 rather take advantage of the strong relationships that I鈥檝e made marching around campus at night or gossiping at the front desk [in the Admission Office]. Thus, instead of filling my time with student organizations and hours of studying, I鈥檓 spending more time laughing with my friends, conversing and learning from my mentors, and still not getting any sleep.
After graduation, Wittenberg will have given me much more than just a degree: it will have given me the ability to be convicted in myself; it will have given me a second mother (Michell Wilke, receptionist and campus visit coordinator for the Office of Admission); it will have given me lifelong friends. I plan to use the skills that Wittenberg has given me by passing my light on to others through a year of service in Central or South America. Although I鈥檓 not sure what the future will hold after this, you can be sure that I will continue to do as Wittenberg has taught me, and 鈥渁provecha.鈥�
Irene Presper 鈥�18
Majors: Spanish and Finance
Hometown: Akron, Ohio
