College can be intimidating, nerve-racking and exciting all at the same time. You don’t know where you will fit in, if you will like your classes, or if you can handle living on your own. Then all of a sudden you blink your eyes and you are a senior about to graduate. You realize that college is like a second home and that you never want to leave the comfort of it. This is exactly what Analyn Kusper, a senior in the College of Communication, has experienced during her time in college.
Known to most of her friends as “Annie,” Kusper has really grown up during her time at Marquette. Starting as a shy and timid freshman, she later completely immersed herself in college. She lived in Mashuda Hall with her best friend from high school and her cousin who lived next door. She wanted to get more involved her second semester, so she decided to go through sorority recruitment and applied to be a Resident Assistant. Kusper has participated in a lot of activities throughout her college career.
One of the main things that Kusper is involved in on campus is being a Resident Assistant in Schroeder Hall. During her freshman year, Kusper never thought of being a RA. She still finds her reason for not wanting to be one comical.
“My freshman year I told myself that I could never be an RA because my handwriting is terrible,” Kusper says. “So making posters is my least favorite thing to do.”
Kusper has been an RA in Schroeder for three years. With the job comes being a resource, a mediator and a policy enforcer for 30-40 residents. Kusper is so thankful that she has had the opportunity to work with three amazing sets of staff and three amazing resident groups. Throughout her experience she has learned a lot.
“Being an RA has taught me that everyone has a different leadership style, residents tend to show up to programs when food is involved, and I have developed the ability to handle situations and make decisions on my own under pressure,” Kusper says.
The position has taught Kusper how to manage her time. Time management has been very helpful, as she has been involved with so much on campus. She is a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority, in the National Residence Hall Honorary, a student conduct board member on the Resident Assistant Selection Committee, and an intern at two separate organizations.
She is a public relations intern for St. Joseph’s Hospital in West Bend, and a marketing assistant for the Center for Life Transitions. She knows that she will most likely continue the Center for Life Transitions internship, because it is easily accessible and based online. Kusper plans to continue the internship at the hospital until she can find a full-time job.
If Kusper isn’t running from job to job, she is hanging out in the duty room at Schroeder. She loves to play board games, listen to country music, obsess over her dog and watch the television show “Scandal.”
Kusper knows she has grown up since her freshman year. She studied abroad for a semester in Berlin and fell in love with the city. She feels as though her Marquette experience has made her a more confident person and a more well-rounded person.
“I wouldn’t be the person I am today if I didn’t have the people around me that I did in college, with everyone from my supervisors to my sisters, to my friends, to my residents; they have made me who I am. The Marquette slogan ‘We are Marquette’ really holds true, and it is the people of Marquette who have changed me,” Kusper says.
Right now, Kusper is focused on finishing her senior year strong and having the best time doing it. She has recently begun the process to apply for full-time positions in either a public relations or organizational communication setting. She plans on staying in the Midwest, preferably in Chicago or Milwaukee.
After experiencing all of the ups and downs of college, Kusper’s main lesson that she learned is that finding a place in college is not that hard.
“I learned to be myself because you will always find somewhere to fit in,” Kusper says.
Kusper is also a big fan of motivational quotes. She loves to read them and post them on social media. One of her favorite quotes by Christopher Robin in “Pooh’s Grand Adventure” says, “Promise me you will always remember you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter that you think.”
Although some seniors have anxiety about graduating in May, Kusper is ready to take her next steps.
“I feel prepared to cross the stage in May and walk into the real world and succeed,” Kusper said.
Kusper doesn’t know where her life will take her three years down the line, but she does know one thing: “I hope to be doing something that I love.”
