Reflections Magazine Issue #76 - Spring 2012 | Page 17

Feature Article

Trudy was there, and she took me
under her wing right away. She knew
I was in trouble and having difficulties . . .
She was an angel in disguise.
— Norman

Andrea said Siena Heights did that for
her, helping her become more sociable, more
compassionate, and, most importantly, a better
person. In fact, she has recently reconciled with
her father and stepmother, as well as with her
estranged birth mother. She now has a place
to go during breaks and holidays, although she
said she still considers Siena Heights her home.
“I’ve thought about everything that has
happened at Siena Heights University, which
I would say is my life,” Andrea said. “I do feel
like I’m home.”

An Angel in Disguise
Getting hit by a car turned out to be one
of the best things that could have happened to
Norman.
Mostly due to financial difficulties, Norman’s
family moved out of state before he started his
freshman year at Siena Heights, leaving him to
fend for himself. Norman stayed with friends
near the Adrian campus, and his bicycle was his
only means of transportation. While riding in
town one day, he emerged from the sidewalk
behind some bushes and never saw the car that
intersected the path of his bike. He suffered
some bumps and bruises, but his bike did not
survive the accident.
“Pretty much my transportation was shot,”
said Norman, who now had no way to get to
either school or work, except on foot. “I had to
start walking back and forth. I had to spend my
day here on campus and wait it out before
I could actually go and get anything to eat.”

At the time it happened, it was a seemingly
devastating blow. But the accident drew the attention of the right person, who quickly came
to his aid.
“Trudy (McSorley) found out about this
and was very concerned,” Norman said of SHU’s
then Dean for Students. “She started talking
about getting me here on campus. She said,
‘We can’t have you living in a situation like that.’”
Norman soon moved into the residence
halls—even though he did not have the money
to pay for on-campus housing.
“(Trudy) was there, and she just took me
under her wing right away,” he said. “She knew
I was in trouble and was having difficulties. …
She was an angel in disguise.”
With his family living too far away to visit
on holidays, Norman stays on campus during
breaks. He said campus life has enriched his
college experience.
“I always thought I was going to miss out
on the living-on-campus experience,” he said.
“One of the things college is about is getting out
on your own and living among other people.”
Now a junior, Norman is involved in the
theater program, both in acting and as a playwright. He said the people at Siena Heights who
know about his situation treat him with compassion, not pity, which he appreciates. And Norman has found other students on campus who
do not have a place to call home.

“I feel like we found each other,” he said.
“There’s people around campus who know what
the difficulties are like. They don’t have to put a
façade around each other. … A lot doesn’t need
to be said.”
Norman said he isn’t sure he would have
stayed at Siena Heights if he didn’t move on
campus. He is appreciative of the opportunity
he was given, and knows it was a financial sacrifice for Siena Heights.
“It’s special because I think they would give
me the help even when they are not able to do it,”
Norman said. “Someone could say it would be
smart to just let this one go. … People were just
so willing to help.”
Norman said his experiences have given
him a determination to make the most of his
education.
“It would be terrible to waste,” he said.
“Wherever I go (after graduation), there’s always
going to be a piece of me that knows I can come
back here, and there’s going to be people here
who are excited to hear what I’ve done. And
I’m going to be excited to tell them. Wherever
I go, I’m going to be taking Siena with me.”

Reflections Spring ’12

17