Marquette had a big week last week.

For students, the fourth week of classes never fails to be the first week of tests and deadlines, usually in every class at once. But this week was different from semesters past because Inauguration week offered a reward at the end of it.

Sorry freshmen, but delicious free food and fewer classes every few Fridays are not the norm.

The Rev. Scott Pilarz’s presidency was finally made official, and every member of the Marquette community – from employees and faculty to students and alums – were involved in the festivities. Thursday and Friday brought a buzz to campus, with guests and students alike enjoying the festivities and a surprisingly tasty Sodexo spread.

Then, the real Buzz showed up with a video message to encourage the sixth man to turn out strong again this year, as Fanatics tickets went on sale yesterday.

All of the commotion on campus made me feel like our fight song was on a continuous loop sounding through speakers on Central Mall. Then I realized I was just walking by the pep band.

Anyway, my school spirit was soaring. I spent the last semester studying at the Les Aspin Center in Washington D.C., so my welcome back was during exam week, followed by senior week. And while both weeks were busy, it was atypical of the usual campus bustle.

Then I was on campus all summer, but the months when Milwaukee is at its best coincide with the time when the least amount of people populate MU. Needless to say, when school started, I was not used to the normal high volume of activity which occurs during the school year.

I was bouncing from class to work to clubs, lugging a bag the size of Montana and annoyed by the sudden resurgence of bros blocking the sidewalk. But after the first week of classes, I got my schedule down, bought a backpack and found the quickest routes. I grew used to all the people and noise, and once it stopped bothering me, I stopped noticing it. I had work to do, meetings to attend and a spot in the library that has not been seeing enough of me (although I certainly feel like I have been seeing enough of it).

I failed to notice how great it is to be a Marquette student because I was too distracted actually being a Marquette student.

That is until last week, when the huge tent went up in the middle of campus, and it became impossible to not notice something special was happening within our community.

Oy, that sounded corny. But it’s true: We are a community at Marquette.

Whenever I am off-campus, I bump into an alumni or two – even when I’m not in Milwaukee, and even if I’ve never met them before.

It happened all the time in D.C. Numerous spontaneous conversations began because of a gold T-shirt with M-A-R-Q-U-E-T-T-E scrolled across it. Whether it was a brief run-in on the National Mall or a long chat at a Marquette bar while watching a men’s basketball game, there was an undeniable connection.

We make these connections because we are proud of the community we have built while on campus. Last week, we welcomed Pilarz into it in an incredibly grand way. This gigantic event caused us to recognize the solidity of Marquette – but it shouldn’t have to take such a big scale to alert us of this.

Too often, we get swept up in the day-to-day monotony. Balancing everything can be overwhelming. We become consumed with homework and events. We grow frustrated by slow internet connections and weird living conditions. We start to take for granted the goodness that is around us – a goodness that many of our alumni miss and wish to stay connected to.

The spirit we have during basketball games is obvious. It’s also easy. What is difficult is remembering to maintain that spirit every day. Take a moment to appreciate this community. We only live in it for four years, but it lasts a lifetime.