Colorado to Illinois: Was the Move Worth it?

Picture by: Skylur Cullinane

Moving fourteen hours away from home is a leap of faith, to say the least. Skylur Cullinane moved last winter from Colorado Springs, Colorado to Greenville, Illinois. While she said she didn’t plan on attending college that far away from home, she “loves the people and the atmosphere at Greenville.” She has developed a passion for traveling and loves seeing the diverse scenery of each place she visits.

Skylur said when she first came to Greenville, it was a pretty difficult transition. She felt homesick and still does from time to time. She had moved here during interterm and came here knowing no one. Although, as she began to create friendships her experience at GU dramatically changed. She had found her “second family” and they helped ease her homesickness.

Greenville University was Skylur’s top pick because it had exactly the degree she was searching for. She is a double major in Music Industry Studies (in the branch of Audio Engineering) and Digital Media. Not only did GU have her exact degree, but it also had the Christian atmosphere she had been searching for. She noted that the environment at GU was “so welcoming and loving.”

Colorado Springs, having a population of 500,000 people, opened up many opportunities. Leading into her career at GU, Skylur was able to receive professional training in audio engineering at Pikes Peak Christian Church. It helped develop her skills and passion for the degree she is currently pursuing. While she does plan on returning to Colorado after graduating from GU, she did say “plans may change though depending on where my career takes me.”

Skylur only had wonderful things to say of her professors at Greenville University. She said, “all the professors are very personable.” Notably, Skylur mentioned her voice professor Miriam Porter, saying “she is so caring and welcoming.” She then chimed in to say all of the professors at GU are “always trying to help us out, so we are successful in our future careers.”

The community of Greenville, “is so small and quaint, everybody knows everybody for the most part.” Skylur has found her favorite go-to spots in the community here. She enjoys spending her free time in the local coffee shops and in Whitlock Music Center. She said the coffee shops are quiet and peaceful to do homework in and Whitlock is a great place to spend time with other music majors.

While Skylur is rarely able to go home during the school year, she was able to catch up with her family for a few weeks over the summer. When she wasn’t at home, she was involved with GU’s summer Pursuit worship team. She was the audio engineer for this team for seven weeks of her summer. During this experience, she went to various church camps all over the Midwest and served not only as an audio engineer, but as a counselor too. Skylur went on to say, “We were a team of eight students including myself, and we became like a family, it was heartwarming.”

Although Skylur was skeptical of going to college so far away at first, her time here has been nothing but a blessing to her. She has been given opportunities that have strengthened her faith, friendships, and skills needed for her degree. She ended the conversation by saying that Greenville is “a home away from home.”

Media by: Di’Mond Salmond

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here