KELLY: I’ll never forget the time I was talking
to the dean about my dream of combining
my nursing studies with traveling abroad.
She said, “I know people I can put you in
contact with.” She picked up the phone
right then and there. She helped me get an
internship at the International Council of
Nurses in Geneva, Switzerland, and invited
me to go to a conference in South Africa
this past summer.
ABBY: If you have ideas and want to start or
do something new, the professors will definitely listen and try to help you get started
with whatever it is you want to do. I think
that’s what makes Villanova innovative.
WILL: At a lot of other colleges, professors
are immersed in their own work and
research. Here, they’re caught up in the
students and what we’re doing. That’s pretty
cool. They help you to find what you love.
DAVE: There’s a Villanova student who
helped discover a new species of spider on
a field trip. You hear a lot about professors
doing research and making all these great
discoveries, but a student, an undergraduate biology major, was part of discovering
a new species!
WILL: Every professor I’ve ever had has
known my name because the class sizes
are so small.
AMEER: It makes it a lot easier to learn.
FR. PETER: St. Augustine recognized that
within community, we can achieve our true
potential. Villanova was founded to be a
place where people are able to mature in
many different ways, including through
service to others. St. Augustine discussed
community a lot in his writings. What word
would you use to define it at Villanova,
and why?
AMEER: I’d say “respect.” Everyone here—
whether it’s students, the president, the
landscapers, the professors or the “lunch
ladies”—treats each other with respect,
and respect goes a long way.
DAVE: For me it’s “heart.” Everybody puts
their hearts into Villanova with everything
they do here. You see 6,000 students putting
energy and passion into service projects
and planning events for their fellow
students, such as freshman orientation.
WILL: “Inclusion.” Even though I had never
played the sport before, I went out for the
water polo team. They took me in, taught me
how to play and never asked any questions
or judged me for not being that good from
the get-go.
