Feeling Thankful for My MHS Family

By Tatiana ’15

As my first semester at Rochester Institute of Technology comes to an end, I’ve been very busy. Balancing classes, a social life and healthy habits-like sleeping and going to the gym have become more of a challenge than when I was at Milton Hershey School. Not because no one is telling me what to do and when, but because of lack of motivation to do the more unpleasant tasks. Though I think that with all of the stress I have, I still maintain a successful balance.

As the holidays are upon us and it’s almost time for me to be able to come home to Hershey, I have been thinking a lot about how lucky I am to have so much.

Compared to many of my peers in college, I have a tremendous amount of support from my MHS family. Just receiving cute notes from elementary students was something they don’t receive and I appreciate so much. The continuous love and support from my houseparents, staff and the students is enough for me to keep working hard to be successful. On top of all of that, the financial support I receive from MHS relieves me of a lot of stress. I can’t wait to come back to home-cooked food, and the people who have open their arms to include me in their family.

I know I made the right decision to go to RIT, but I wouldn’t have been able to make it here without MHS. I always thought it was stereotypical that people who come from my background don’t end up at college, but I quickly realized this it’s true. There are very few people here at my college who come from a similar background, and no one yet who really understands what it is like.

Though I don’t know anyone like me, RIT has an extremely accepting community vibe on campus, and I don’t feel like it affects me socially at all. It all makes me even more thankful for being raised at MHS, and for the opportunities it has provided me.