Memories of Alnwick
Stephanie Haiden McLaen Maresch ’87 ’89, Lock
Haven, Penn., Alnwick 1986
My time in Alnwick changed my life. I was a St. Cloud native
so I had never lived on campus when I attended St. Cloud
State. I had no experience with dorm or communal life. Alnwick
was my first experience of living with a large group of
people and at 26 years old, I was a bit older than most
of my fellow students. I had taken one of the private rooms
because I wasn’t sure how much continuous interaction
I would be able to handle and I knew that I would want more
privacy than a shared room would provide. My room was very
small, but an oasis amidst the hoards of people (well it
felt like hoards at times) I would interact with on a daily
basis.
I had never really had a chance to get to know anyone well
at St. Cloud State because I was only on campus for classes
and wasn’t involved in any other college activities
because I also worked. Suddenly I was thrust into one huge
activity and although it took some time for me to adjust,
I loved it. I was able to get to know many people and some
even became close friends. Interacting constantly brought
me out of my shell and I found that my shyness lessened
every day.
Attending the Alnwick program was the first thing that
I had done on my own. Before the program, I was hesitant
to travel alone - even in my home state. After my time traveling
on the program, I found that I was very comfortable traveling
on my own. The spriit of adventure I found on the Alnwick
Program has continued throughout the rest of my life. I
have returned to England several times and I have made sure
that I was visiting Alnwick during the fair.
Some of the friendships I made continued after we returned
to SCSU. Although we have drifted apart in the 20 years
since then, I often think about them and the time I spent
as part of the Alnwick family. I firmly believe that I would
not be the confident, self-assured person that I am today
without having participated in the Alnwick program.
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