Lada: this is part 1 of 2 collective interviews I did with some phenomenal women. I met them while in college and have been so blessed to know each of them. They have motivated me beyond measure and I am so proud of their most recent accomplishment: graduating with their bachelor's degree. Ive had the pleasure of watching them grow from their freshmen year and beyond and know that their experiences can help motivate others. Congrats ladies and thank you for agreeing to do the interview! Look out for the rest of the interviews next week.

Samaria McClary

What did you have to overcome within yourself to get to where you are today?

For me to become the woman I am today, I had to overcome two major things: fear and change. Growing up I always had fears that I was unworthy or incapable of greatness, I say this because where I grew up wasn't perfect. My family may not have been the richest family in my neighborhood, but they always made sure that we had everything that we needed and not what we wanted. Nonetheless, with family support, maturity going away to Le Moyne College I learned how to crush these fears. Specifically, Le Moyne has taught me how to become comfortable with uncomfortable situations and how to put myself out there. I mean, in all honesty, the only true way for one to make it out of college and to be successful is by making a name for yourself; something I was both afraid and unaware of how to do. I guess my biggest fear derived from being afraid to blossom into a better version of myself and learning how to find my way in the world. I say this because where I come from so often people strive to be the same, do the same things and are more accustomed to following rather than leading. So for me to go away for college and almost receive a full-ride to Le Moyne was both rare and a blessing. Once I learned how to let go of these fears I learned how to embrace change. Embrace the fact that I am different, I do stand out and that it is okay to stand out from the crowd. Let's face it, change is not easy for anyone, good or bad, but I learned how to welcome all forms of change. I say this because change is necessary for growth and in order for me to be the person I am today, a lot of things needed to change no matter if I liked it or not. Change is one of the most constant things in life, so why not learn how to encourage it?

Dani Vasquez

What advice do you have for incoming freshmen and outgoing seniors?

To the incoming freshmen: stay true to yourselves. As you enter college you will be faced with not only academic challenges but also a lot of different social pressures. Some will be good where others may be bad. In the end I think it's important to remember that no one can make you do anything you don't want to do. If you want to go out and party then go for it, it's normal. But if you want to stay in and hang out with friends or study in the library; that's normal too. In college everything seems pretty normal because you aren't the only one doing/feeling something. You can always find another person who is going through or feeling the same thing as you. At some point we all just want to fit in but being yourself will allow you to make life long friends that want to be around you because you're amazing the way you are, flaws and all. So remember to be open to change and growth, but also to stay true to yourself. Remember that those who are your real friends will always accept you for who you are. And also remember that no matter what you are going through, you are not alone. #YANA

Now to the seniors. It's been a pretty eventful 3+ years. You've all grown quiet a bit in college whether it was coming out of your shell, focusing more on your studies, or even just adjusting to living with a whole bunch of different/crazy people that are your age. When you first came to college you were scared of something, everyone was. Now that you have lived through it you are all entering a new type of unknown but it's going to be just as eventful as the last four years. Some of you know what your doing and others have no clue, but that's okay. It's just like when you came into college with declared and undeclared majors. The best advice I have to offer is to enjoy whatever it is you want to do with your future. If you don't have anything planned out just keep trying things until you are happy to wake up and go to work everyday. Don't make work another chore so that you can make money but make it something that puts a smile on your face. Money cannot buy you happiness, that comes from doing the things you love. And if you can wake up everyday doing something you love, then you'll work harder at whatever you do and get better at it without even feeling like you put in all that much effort. The four years came and went by fast but now you have your whole lives a head of you to be worrying about pretty much anything, so remember to laugh and enjoy whatever lies ahead for you, because you only live once. #YOLO

Taela Bonnet

What strength has helped you succeed during these 4 years in college?

Many things different things as help me succeed in past four years of college.

My strength in prayer and God's improved and helped. Durning my first year of college, I fell off in my religion, and I was less passionate about God and stressed everything and thing that were out of my control.

As I started my sophomore year with confusion in my life, I was questioning whether I wanted to stay at Le Moyne or not. As my life and school got harder, I reconnected with God with prayer, and I was happier. I had more faith, and things started to fall into place slow but surely.

I started building stronger friends with my friends and figured out what I wanted for myself. I became more confident and asked for more help and guidance from my professors and faculty at Le Moyne.

HEOP/ AHANA and C-STEP were the two most important programs that helped in many different ways.

Without the help from many and my faith, I wouldn't have made throughout my four years. The struggle was real, but there is beauty in the struggle. And now I have a BA in Psychology and minor in Education.

-Taela Bonnet

Muna Jeylani

What have you learned about yourself while at Le Moyne and what will you carry with you when you leave?

What have I learned about myself while at Le Moyne--that’s a lot to think about but, I think I’ve learned that not everything always goes as planned and that's okay. My four years at Le Moyne has put to the test of how resilient I can be or that I am. I came to college thinking four years it's going to be easy and I was engaged! I( scary now that I look back at it) I thought I was going to come into be an English major with a psychology minor and get my teaching certification and I changed my mind a couple times. I thought my life was planned out but little did I know that was not how life worked. I lost someone I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with, I've lost friends but I found my forever friends, I've gained angels. I've most importantly learned to love myself, find something I'm passionate about and go with it. I've cried I've mourned I've laughed I've pulled all nighters, I've procrastinated, I've protested I've held discussions. See my years at Le Moyne weren't just education focused but also about finding myself. What I'll always carry with me is to keep an opened mind everyone that everyone has story and is fighting a battle.

Kristiana Rica

What financial and emotional hardships did you go through senior year and how did you overcome it?

Honestly, I have been through a lot in my life but it seems that the beginning of the end was truly the hardest to get through. I knew that my mom's hotel would be bought and she was going to be unemployed since the fall of '16. I needed to pay 2 grand in order to cover the fall semester in order to register for the spring of my senior year. I almost went to extremes in order to meet my needs but I drank my problems away and both fortunately and unfortunately broke my leg. It saved me in the sense that it stopped me from basically selling my soul to get the money because I was so concerned with being able to help my family financially. But not being able to be self-sufficient put me in such a deep state of depression I have no idea how I was able to get through it. I luckily was already on anti-depressants for my PTSD and anxiety so that kept a lot of suicidal thoughts away, I am sure of it. However, I was so afraid to gain the 40lbs I lost, since I was in a wheelchair, that I only ate once every 36 hours. I was single because I had sought not so good men that had abandoned me as soon as I needed them. I also pushed away anyone that cared for me, including my family, so I thought I had no one. During this time, my family and friends showed me that they were here for me and my heart has changed ever since. I now am more willing to allow people to come into my life, I achieved and continue to achieve good grades, I am more willing to love people, but, only to those who show me they are deserving of my love. I continued to think more positively and really truly began healing and loving myself. It was the first time I was single since I was 17, so an entire year was dedicated to me instead of trying to fix broken men. Turns out, I even found a way to register and although fees are racking up, it was more important for me to finish these classes. I owe 60,000 to private loans, 40,000 to federal, and 9,000 to Le Moyne. I decided to take a gap year to help my mom get back on her feet and pay off my bachelor's (what I owe to Le Moyne) and a little of my debt. Actually, I had stumbled across "The Secret", a documentary that truly changed my life and I really have to tell you about since it is crucial to my healing process. It was about our thoughts sending out frequencies into the world. I always believed in vibes and auras, I am a very spiritual person. It was as if this documentary reinforced who I was as a person. It explained how we can tap into the power of our minds and attract good things to come to us. I started believing again and made a list of both physical and spiritual things that I believed I was going to receive and one of the things I had written down was I wanted 100k by the end of the year. I got a job offer through a nannying agency for 100k. Most of you will say that it was just a coincidence and that I am crazy for believing but with hard work and believing that I will receive it because I am worthy is what changed me. The way I wrote out my application, my essays, my one-way interview, all had changed because I believed. I was more caring, confident, loving, compassionate, and more importantly, genuine. I wasn't putting a mask on to fake my happiness. That and I had felt grateful for everything and everyone in my life which truly had me radiating light and love. For the first time in years, I feel like myself again. I also feel like I am finally the becoming person I was meant to be. And I am blessed for all of it, the good and the bad. I am ready to begin a new chapter of my life and feel beyond excited.

Toni Santos

What are some difficulties you've faced your senior year of college and how'd you overcome them? (please, also reflect on your graduate school application process and you selected your school)

Some of the difficulties included me trying to lose weight, date more, begin watching a tv series and actually finish it. But those were minimal. A huge difficulty was accepting my fate. The reason i say this is because I had a plan of how I wanted my life to be by the time I graduated. Freshman year, I thought I would still be with my high school sweetheart. Probably walking across the stage with a ring on my finger. I thought that after May 2017, I would move back to the city into an apartment and start my career. But apparently, God had different plans for me.The funny thing is, I’m more happy about how my life turned out than how I originally wanted it to be. For so long I needed validation from others to believe that my life was good. I believed that with someone by my side, there was no way that I could fail. However, seeing as how the tables have turned in my favor, I can say that my future is bright and it is only because of my new found sense of independence.

Another huge difficulty for me was applying to graduate programs and accepting the idea that I would still have to be a student. When the time came to start thinking about life after undergrad, I decided that the only way I could make it in this world was to continue with my education. I applied to four colleges and throughout the process I was an emotional wreck. I sought out many faculty and staff for advice and after I cried so much from fear of failure. I did not want my family to be disappointed if I came back to NYC with a degree but no job and thousands of dollars in debt. Surprisingly, after fall semester I was accepted into all of the programs and was offered assistantships from two of the four programs. Shortly after, I chose Syracuse University as the place that I would get my M.S. from. I remember telling my mom that I was continuing my education and although her response was not extravagant, it was appropriate for a phone call. She simply said “Do what you have to do boo. Go for what’s going to allow you to live comfortably.”

As I write this at 1am and realize that my close friends are going to work tomorrow, I cannot help but to feel somewhat behind. As they start to receive their incomes, I have to wait to start classes again. But with this feeling it allows me to acknowledge that our journeys are very different, we are all on the same road to success