As a transfer student, I was a little hesitant to start at St. Edward’s University.

I was coming in with a ton of credit hours, but had no idea which major I belonged in. I had no friends or mentors to help me through the transferring process.

My mom, who I’ve always depended on, lives five hours away, so she couldn’t help me out either. I was alone again and I didn’t particularly like the feeling, considering I had already been through it my freshmen year at St. Mary’s University.

My first week at St. Edward’s was overwhelming to say the least. With a four-month-old baby at home, I knew I had already taken on more classes than I could successfully handle. I struggled to find time to manage my student duties as well as my mother duties.

But upon my struggle, I met Dr. Mary Rist who is the department chair of literature, writing and rhetoric and she was able to help me with the transferring process. At the time, I had no idea who she was, what title she held or what classes she taught; I was ultimately just thankful that she helped get some of my credits transferred.

Fate took its course and Dr. Rist was assigned as my new academic advisor. My second semester here, I was lucky enough to get to take an ENGW class with her. Although her class was tough and required a huge amount of work outside of class, I ended up loving the experience as well as the class content.

I spent a lot of time in her office last semester due to office hours for our Theories of Rhetoric and Composition course, but also just to talk to her, as she was a very helpful advisor.

Currently, though I’m not taking any classes with Dr. Rist, she still welcomes me to stop by her office just to chat. This person I met on my very first week here has become so much more to me than just a professor and advisor.

Dr. Rist has become a mentor whom I think very fondly of, who has often helped me in whatever situation I find myself in. But perhaps most importantly, she always provides a listening ear when I have no one else to talk to.

Dr. Rist, I’ve realized, is a reflection of this university — a university I’m proud to be a part of. She’s friendly, honest, hardworking, caring and encouraging. Through her mentoring, I’ve not only been exposed to many, many wonderful opportunities, but I’ve also been able to clarify my personal values and responsibilities. All in all, I believe that through her I’ve been able to clearly identify the dreams I’m currently pursuing.