What is your NMU connection?
I am a recent graduate of NMU. I graduated in May of 2023. I was a student at NMU for 5 years, 2018-2023.
Pre-COVID, during COVID & post-COVID.
What is/was your favorite thing to do in Marquette?
My favorite thing about Marquette is how active everyone is and how it is set up so there are a ton of options for getting outside. I swear that everyone in Marquette is so nice because of the scenic beauty.
I grew up in metro Detroit. I lived in between a freeway and a highway. Everyone was always in a rush. It was smelly, dirty & loud. It was a 30 minute drive on the freeway to get to a beach. It was an 18 minute drive to get to the Detroit River to see some nature. I didn’t have scenery growing up. I had more concrete than trees. So, when I took a tour of NMU in 2017, it was for me. I was in love with Marquette & how quiet and beautiful it is. NMU was the only college that I applied to. When I lived in Marquette for the 5 years I was at NMU, I took full advantage of the scenery. Before I had a car on campus, I would wake up around 5am on Fridays with a friend and we would walk to the beach to watch the sunrise. Any chance that I got to go on a hike or a walk I took it. I loved waterfall hunting, star gazing, and northern-lights seeking. I got my car from my family downstate in May of 2020 when I moved off campus. 2020 was a difficult year due to the pandemic. I lost the closest family member to me on May 1, 2020. The same day I got my car & moved into my first off campus house. I swear that the beauty of Marquette & the UP saved me. I was at the beach every day. I was going on scenic drives with friends & by myself every day. I was always hiking, riding my bike, and swimming. Marquettes nature is therapy. I found a love & a need for nature. I didn’t have that before moving to Marquette. And now I go on road trips to visit new National Parks & pretty places. I moved to Alaska a week after graduation to seek more beautiful views! I miss Marquette everyday. I have been lucky enough to visit a few times after I graduated. I get emotional every time. It is a special place!
Talk about any significant/memorable sporting events, weather occurrences or other on-campus activities
A significant sporting event would have to be Atte Tolvanen’s goalie-goal in 2018. I will never forget how the room lit up in a roar of surprise. I will also never forget walking home afterwards to the dorms with my friends and how the town was in an uproar of cheering. It is a story that I continue to tell people & I show them the YouTube clip of the goal. It was a bonus that it happened at a Tech game!!
Share any dorm/roommate stories you may have
I lived on 4th Floor Maple West in 2018-2019. We were the first people to live in those rooms since the building was brand new. A funny memory with two of those girls (Lorna & Amy) I met there was when we took a camping trip during my sophomore year in October to Porcupine Mountains. We planned to camp in two tents. We wanted to see the pretty autumn colors up there. When we got to the campground, we were the only ones camping in tents. Everyone else had campers. One of the tents we brought was missing its rain fly. It was just a screen tent. My friend Amy & I were frozen cold that night. Partway through the night, it started snowing. It was awful! My friend Amy slept in the backseat of the car. I crawled into the other tent with my other friend Lorna. We didn’t bring enough winter gear or blankets. We weren’t really anticipating it to be that cold or snowy. Our campsite was also on Lake Superior. So we had the lake winds & snow. We had no electricity or phone service either. There weren’t any stores or restaurants in the area that were open because they are seasonal. We planned to cook meals in the fire pit at the campsite but with the snow & winds we couldn't get a fire going or keep a fire going. This camper nearby offered us some of her food because she knew how badly we were struggling. She had a blind wiener dog that kept running into everything. We made it through that night with little sleep. When we adventured to the mountains to see the colors, with the snow it was so cloudy that we couldn’t see anything. It became funny to us because everything that could’ve gone wrong did go wrong. We went to lake of the clouds and it was pretty foggy as well. Amy had lost her credit card while we were walking around trying to find somewhere to eat. When we got back to the campsite, we were so cold that we wore every single layer of clothing for the 3 days. I had 5 pairs of pants on, 4 sweatshirts and a coat. 3 pairs of socks, 2 hats. It wasn’t enough. We were freezing. The campgrounds hot water wouldn’t get hot, it only got lukewarm. We would take turns standing under the electric hand dryer to warm up. We didn’t change clothes until we got back to Marquette 3 days later. We were fighting for the shower. On the drive home, we ended up getting pulled over by a cop for going 4 miles over the speed limit in a passing lane. We were laughing the rest of the car ride home about the trip we just had. It became one of my favorite adventures. If it weren’t for 4th Floor Maple West, I would have never met those girls. We did make it to the porkies the following autumn season and had a more enjoyable trip. What a beautiful place!