The start of it all.

Hey everyone!

My name is Samantha and I'm a freshman transfer student here at La Roche. My major is currently undeclared but soon to be nursing this May! I'm so excited to share my experiences with all of you reading this. Hopefully those of you reading this will get the urge to become apart of our family here at La Roche! 

Since this is my very first blog I think it's only fair that I give you a little back story on how I became a redhawk. I graduated from North Hills High School in 2010, and was set to go to The Art Institute of Pittsburgh. After spending about a year there majoring in video and TV design, I transferred to Community College of Allegheny County. I took most of my core classes at CCAC, but couldn't really settle on a major that fit me perfectly. After some investigating, I decided on the nursing program. I met with the nursing department, followed their guidelines and was set to enroll. But without any warning the department changed the way they accepted students. I became extremely frustrated with the lack of communication and help that was offered to me as a student.

I sat down and talked to my mother about other options, looked into multiple colleges in this area but only contacted La Roche to get more information.  I received an email not a day later from Cathy Mall, asking when was best for me to meet with her. 

Orientation Weekend

Next thing I knew, Cathy was prepping me for my first semester at La Roche. Going through all of my credits from my other college experiences, and making sure I knew every step I had to take to apply for the nursing program in May of 2015. She sent me a package of information that would answer ANY question I had about entering La Roche, and set me for Orientation weekend. She is an absolute angel, and does pretty much everything in her power to keep me right on track. I was blown away with help she offered me, the explanations she gave me to my questions, and how easy she was to get in contact with. 

And when the nursing program here at La Roche changed a few things for acceptance into the program, Cathy was contacting me to alert me and worked with me to adjust my current spring schedule so that I met every expectation. The staff here is incredible and extremely knowledgeable, they are ready at the drop of a hat to help you. 

Our cheer uniforms

Hopefully I haven't bored you with my back story, and you are still reading! If you are let's talk about the campus. It is beautiful, peaceful, nestled at the top of a small hill in McCandless. Which is a wonderful neighborhood to live in. I am a commuter to campus, but I only live within walking distance to the school. But I spend any chance I get free, here at La Roche. There is always something happening here. Whether you are looking for some relaxation time with friends, searching for a religious foundation, or just want to cheer on our Redhawks at a game, there's never a boring time here even if you don't live on campus. There are a ton of clubs to join here if you're looking to be apart of something wonderful. I joined the cheer and dance team here at La Roche. Under the direction of Maddie Mastic, we perform at halftime and stand on the sidelines to get the crowd fired up. The team has really become a family to me, and has helped me branch out to trying all kinds of new things. Everything this campus has to offer makes it a wonderful place to call home. And I am really proud to call myself a redhawk.

Some of my teammates