Visiting campuses before making my decision was easily the best part of my college decision process. No matter what campus I was on, no matter the time of year, being in person was the only way I could truly picture myself as a part of the school’s community.

Wichita State University was the best example of this. My family and I managed to be in Wichita, on a tour and exploring campus, and back home to Texas in about 18 hours. A long day for sure, but a long day that was worth it.

I will be brutally honest: I couldn't initially picture myself at Wichita State. And then I stepped foot on campus one beautiful Saturday afternoon, and I immediately felt at home.

Classes were not in session, yet I could still imagine the campus bustling with students getting to classes or to the dining hall or the Rhatigan Student Center to enjoy Starbucks, Chick-fil-a or Freddy’s. I could see myself exploring the labs in the John Bardo Center on the Innovation Campus and interacting with my advisors in whatever building they would be in. I could picture spending my extra time in Shocker Hall hanging out with friends and meeting new people with every hall on every floor themed and decorated by the creativity of the resident assistants.

I learned the lore of the Shamrocks, bringing the fish back to Hubbard Hall, the rock outside of the Engineering Building, and how Wichita State was initially spelled on our water tower. I could explain more, but you have to see it for yourself to understand! I saw the state-of-the-art labs in the John Bardo Center with some of the most insane biomedical engineering research opportunities. I interacted with other potential students and realized that we all wanted the same thing; a place where we would feel comfortable enough to not only continue our education but to commit to learning to an intensity that we hadn’t had the chance to at only 17 and 18 years old.

I fell in love with Shocker Nation by stepping on campus. Not by online research, not through emails or social media, but by taking a tour and seeing what Wichita State University offered IN PERSON. Looking at pictures and reading blogs only does so much, seeing the place you are likely spending the next years of your life with your own eyes is the only way to truly understand what you are getting into and where you are going to be calling home. It’s how I realized it was the perfect time to become a Shocker myself.