Freedom.

It is a simple word that almost everyone knows the definition of. Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines freedom as “the quality or state of being free, such as the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action.” It seems like a simple concept, yet many lives have been laid down for this simple right. I have the freedom to do what I want, say what I want, go where I want and be whatever it is I want to be, and in part, that is because of Gannon University.

Gannon has helped shape me into who I want to be. It is because of my friends and family and my professors at Gannon I am headed in the direction I have always dreamed my life would go.

Dr. Gerald Clark, one of Gannon University’s famous criminal justice professors, was my advisor going into my freshman year. When I added a second major, I got a new advisor to help with scheduling conflicts between the two majors, but remained close to him. It is because of him and my other professors in the criminal justice that I got an internship at the Erie County Courthouse.

It is because of my best friends at Gannon that I am so excited to go to classes and see everyone. My professors in both my criminal justice major and my information systems major make me excited to go to class every day and learn. My bosses at Gannon make it easy for me to work for them and make a schedule that fits around an internship I have.

Thanks to Gannon, I have the freedom to be who I want to be. I get to work for some of the most amazing staff, work with other brilliant and creative students, learn from professors who cover all points of the job field, from academia to field experience, and meet some people who have helped me become a better person and changed my life with just a simple hello.

Freedom.

This July 4^th, I took a moment to stop and think about the freedom that everyone in this country has. Thank you to all the men and women who have laid their lives down to help me keep this freedom to be who I want to be. Thank you to all my amazing friends, faculty and staff, bosses and mentors at Gannon University for helping to guide me.

Happy Fourth of July!