Student Blog: A Love Letter to My Theatre Department

Dear SUNY New Paltz Theatre Department,

It's been almost a year since I officially joined the department. I transferred in as a sophomore, which was difficult but I felt so welcomed. I had so much fear when I was starting out and I remember just thinking about how everyone is going to know everything and everyone is already going to have friends. This was true, but I found that the people around me were extremely welcoming and willing to teach me everything they knew. I felt accepted with open arms and I am so grateful for that. While I only spent a few months on campus this year, I knew this was my home. There was something so special about the way people clicked together and we all just felt like friends even if we just met. There's a magic power behind this department and I hope it never goes away.

The main source of this magic is the professors. I've only been around for two semesters so I haven't had the chance to meet everyone, but the people I have had the pleasure of meeting are just incredible. I'll never forget walking into my first day of class and Professor Goldstein was teaching Introduction to Design and he made me feel so welcome and so involved. I have always had a hard time being involved in classes due to anxiety, but he fostered an environment that allowed me and so many other students to thrive. When I had to spend almost all of my fall semester in the hospital, not able to attend in-person classes and sometimes online classes, my theater professors were so helpful and kind. They re-edited their class syllabi for me to make it easier for me and would meet one-on-one with me to make sure I was understanding everything. This was the hardest time of my life and I am so thankful that I had these amazing professors to help me and be there for me.

Looking into the future, I wish I would have more time with you. Coming into this school as a sophomore and then spending most of my year has left me with hopefully two full years. I wish I could be at this school for all four years. I look to the future with optimism and I cannot wait to get back on campus and be with my people. The community that I've found here, even online, has been one that I feel so grateful to be a part of. I am so thankful that the people I've met are so kind and funny and loving and that they are willing to help each other out in any way possible. I hope that in two years from now when I've just graduated, I can look back on this letter and say that everything still is true and this department has been a dream to be a part of.

See you in the fall,

Paige Rosko