You know what I can’t stand? The loud, perpetual pounding, drilling, screeching and booming that I hear all over campus these days. How is one to work, go to class, sleep, meditate or study with the tireless racket?
It’s no secret there is a lot of construction happening on campus this year, not to mention the looming plans for the Danna Student Center, new residence hall, old residence hall renovations, Monroe Hall and other popular landing pads for Loyola students. How disruptive, how noisy, how… wonderful!
While the sounds and sights can be quite disturbing, I often call on my Strengths of positivity, futuristic thinking and imagine what campus will be like in a few years. Beautiful buildings that are more than adequate for learning, studying, practicing, eating and socializing; landscapes that are tailored for the traffic patterns of our campus; new pride in our growing residential campus!
As a student you might be saying, “What does this have to do with me? I have to suffer though all of this construction and will never see any of this grandeur as a student.”
Believe me, I can relate! I spent my undergraduate and graduate career at the University of Central Florida (UCF), also known as Under Construction Forever.
For six years I enjoyed the jackhammers, detours and headaches that accompany the development of a growing campus and shared many of the same sentiments that you have at Loyola.
As I look back as a young, but aging, alumna, I take great pride that I was there to see the beginning of many great projects I am now able to go back to my campus of 50,000 students and share stories of the way things were and appreciate the way things are.
As you near graduation and begin to lay the bricks of your post-Loyola life, you will set an example in your community with your actions and your success as a student. You will also get to brag about how evolutionary our campus has become in terms of technology, comfort, efficiency, and use of space.
In a perfect world, we would have access to unlimited resources and be able to remodel, renovate and construct glorious buildings overnight. Change can be exciting, especially when we get the result we are hoping for immediately. But in fact, the best changes in your life sometimes occurred over time: days, weeks, even years.
For example, think of how you have developed. From the time of your conception, God and science have ensured that the timing of our physical development is near perfect so that all the pieces work in harmony. Imagine if you completely developed overnight. You might have an arm growing out of your head and an ear growing from your toe. Not the most attractive or efficient visual, is it?
My message is simply to embrace the changes on campus, be patient and relish in the fact that the institution you chose to attend is continuing to make progress. Slowly and surely you will begin to see the plans fulfilled, and some of you will even get to experience the transformations as a student.
The price of progress can be stressful at times. Keep your heads up, the future in mind, and know you are a part of something big! We could not make the improvements without your feedback. Know that your concerns have been heard and construction is only the tactile fruit of your requests.
Until then, sit back. Imagine the drilling as ocean waves, the giant industrial cranes as palm trees and the caution tape and barrier fences as protective sand dunes. The best is yet to come!
Amy Boyle is the associate director of Residential Life. She can be reached at [email protected]
On The Record is a weekly column open to any Loyola faculty or staff. Those interested can contact
