Katie Benoit
Staff Writer
Rachel Feliu, a sophomore majoring in Occupational Therapy, loves Springfield College. After visiting multiple times, coming to the annual gymnastics Homeshow, and attending her sister’s gymnastics meets, she knew it was the place for her.
“I could see myself here,” she said.
Feliu’s sister, Kristen, graduated last year from the Health Science Program. When Kristen was looking into schools, her uncle heard about Springfield College having great Academic Programs, which prompted her to do more research. Ultimately, the two sisters ended up over 300 miles from their home in Elkridge, Maryland at Springfield College.
Feliu fit in right away when she arrived on campus. She already knew where most things were from visiting so many times, had a sibling here, and became a member of the women’s soccer team.
The defender enjoys playing soccer here at Springfield and has been playing since she was five years old. According to Feliu, the team is very close and spends a lot of time together.
“I love the team, the coaches, and it’s fun,” she said.
One of the things that Feliu likes about the college is its small campus feel. “Everywhere I go, I see people I know,” she said.
Feliu also talked about the awesome friends she has made here and how she gets to spend a lot of time with them, with all the dorms being in close proximity to each other.
Also, many students at Springfield tend to wear comfortable attire to class and not feel the pressure to dress up. This is another reason Feliu liked the school, since she knew she could be comfortable while learning.
Feliu definitely does see some differences between Maryland and Massachusetts. In Elkridge, there are a lot more stores and businesses around compared to woody New England. Also, most people refer to where they live by county, not by town.
Even though she’s five hours from home, Feliu still gets to see her parents here and there when they come up for soccer games. They have already visited twice since school started. For the most part, Feliu doesn’t get too homesick. “I miss my dog though,” she laughed.
“I love it here, I don’t have any regrets about it,” she said.