Rebecca Mandelli - Providence College
2025
This fall I began my third semester at Providence College. The semester started pretty easy but definitely picked up once the end of September came around. My Political Science major requires me to do a lot of intense reading and there was a lot of it. Week after week there would be a new political philosopher to read about or a new area of our government I had to understand. It was challenging but so worthwhile. On the other hand my Psychology major was a walk in the park. I fell in love with my Early Childhood and Adolescent Development course. In this course I got to raise my own virtual child and learn how to recognize different physical, cognitive and socioemotional milestones in the development of a person's life. I also took my second to last semester of Development of Western Civilization and I could not be more excited to be done with this core. I love everything about Providence College but CIV is so challenging and I definitely won’t be missing it. Other than school, I’ve been trying to get more involved in things on campus. I joined the Leadership Fellows Program, which is a program that helps me find my passions and teaches me to be a better leader. Through this group I’ve gone to various retreats and I’ve gotten the opportunity to apply to become an Orientation Leader for the following year. I’ve been trying to make more time to take care of my mental health this semester too. I feel like sometimes in the middle of all the assignments and chaos of doing a million things, I forget to take care of myself but I’ve been working on it. This semester has been challenging but it has helped me grow and be more appreciative of everything I have the privilege of doing. I’m so grateful that MVYouth has given me the opportunity and the support to chase my dreams.
2024
The school year started and I was full swing into the Providence College groove. I barely got to say bye to my parents and was already bombarded with the typical “where are you from?” and “what’s your major?” questions. Although I felt like I never had time to process anything due to the go go go of the first couple weeks, I still found myself upset and missing home. I love my roommates and they tried really hard to get me out of the room and to the various activities going on around campus. At this point school was picking up and I felt like I had finally gotten the hang of where things were on campus and I was starting to make different friendships. The third week of school I declared my double major and my minor, the work load definitely added up and I did feel like I was drowning for a good portion of the semester. But I kept telling myself that this is why I was here and that I needed to do this so I could be successful in my future career. Aside from school I tried out and became a part of the women’s club hockey team and through that I have made so many friends. I also am a part of Best Buddies and try to help out at the Special Olympics whenever I don’t have hockey. After Columbus Day I went back to school and tried to make the most of it until I would be back for Thanksgiving. I had friends visit me and I tried to get out there more. This past month I have fallen in love with Providence College and I don’t think I could ever see myself anywhere else. The school work is definitely challenging but my professors are so kind and helpful. I have also found a good groups of friends that I love to be around. PC is slowly becoming home and I can’t wait to go back next semester! I love Friartown!