Meet the Transfer Ambassadors: Megan

Hi! My name is Megan, and I am a senior at W&M this year.

..Weird.

Truly, it feels like just moments ago that I was walking around campus my second night here, drinking in the beauty of that humid August evening. I was (and still am) so, so incredibly happy to be here, that I was already melancholy knowing that one day I’d have to graduate and leave. It’s eery how time flies that way, isn’t it?

So here I am, my senior year. And how did I get here you may wonder? Well, it was a rather long road, but in the end, I arrived at my perfect destination.

I’ve long thought of my relationship with William & Mary as a love story – at first a tumultuous one, and then as one where we ended up together, happily ever after.

This is because I initially fell in love with this school the first time I visited, at about age 9. Just for kicks, my family went on a tour, and I was completely blown away – small? Smart? Historic? Perfect.

Of course I applied to W&M as an Early Decision applicant my senior year of high school. When I was deferred to Regular Admission, I was heartbroken. Then when I was rejected a few months later, I was completely, entirely crushed. To be honest, thinking about the weeks immediately after I learned about that decision (in a very short email, by the way) is still difficult.

But, I moved on. I began my freshman year of college at another four-year institution, in the hopes that I would fall in love with it. I threw myself into the campus culture and joined student organizations of all kinds, and met as many people as I possibly could. Really, I enjoyed my classes and benefitted tremendously from having great professors and good friends, and yet still I was deeply unhappy. My heart was still with William & Mary.

So, I applied to transfer to William & Mary for my sophomore year and this time I finally (finally) was accepted. Making the decision to transfer was challenging (saying goodbye to friends isn’t ever really easy), but to this day it is without a doubt the best decision I have ever made for myself. I cannot imagine myself anywhere but here.

I am so, so very excited to continue contributing to this blog. I have learned a lot since coming here – both in and out of the classroom – and I would love nothing more than to spread the word about what a truly great place this is.

So this love story between me and my school (yes! my school!) continues. Now that I think of it, my story with William & Mary is akin to the love story in Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001). At first, it really looked like it wasn’t going to happen for me, but in the end, I am exactly where I’m supposed to be – with Mark Darcy! Just kidding. And who knows, if this really is like Bridget Jones’s Diary, then maybe I’ll get a sequel! And then a follow-up to the sequel!

To conclude, William & Mary is amazing and even on the most stressful of days, taking a step back and remembering how much I love being able to call this place home is a joy in and of itself. Because truly, it isn’t about where you start, but it is all about where you finish.

-Megan Embrey ’17