In just a few short weeks, I will walk away from the world I have come to know and love, LMU, and into the real world as an official college graduate. I have come to know LMU as a place where I can mostly do as I please, such as join friends and professors for a cup of coffee, laugh endlessly, and celebrate the accomplishments of the friends I have made and can’t live without. There is nothing scarier than knowing that there isn’t much sand left in my LMU hourglass, but this coming May I will cross that stage knowing that my time here has been nothing but the best and has left me with memories I will never forget.
If I were to look back on my five favorite experiences at LMU a few years from now, this is what would come to mind:
1) Going to college with my younger brother. My younger brother Carl began his time at LMU as I began my junior year. As a member of LMU’s men’s soccer team, he and I are in completely different social groups, but with a last name like Rubschlager, everyone on campus knows that we are siblings. Carl and I have shared some of the best of times and worst of times together, such as having a class together, trying to grab dinner weekly, or the day I got a call from my mom telling me to take Carl to the ER only to find out that he had gotten a bad case of Vertigo. Carl is my best friend and being able to share this experience together has helped us create a uniquely LMU sibling bond.
2) Living in the transfer living-learning community. I was lucky enough to meet my three best friends, Jojo, Elizabeth, and Britani, when we were randomly assigned to the same suite in McKay. Being transfers, we quickly developed life-long friendships as we shared the experiences of uncertainty from transferring to a new school and finding a place where each of us belonged.
3) Studying abroad in Bonn, Germany. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about my time in Bonn, Germany. Studying abroad the summer after my sophomore year opened my eyes to the world and helped me discover my passion for learning through traveling the world. I grew into a better more independent version of myself because of my travels, the friends I met, what I experienced, and as funny as it sounds, the different food and drinks I tried.
4) Joining Pi Beta Phi. My mom was a member of a sorority at UC Berkeley and I always knew that I wanted to join one when my time came. Since joining Pi Phi, I have learned so much more about myself by being introduced to so many new people and experiences. The Pi Phi women that surround me embody the virtues of strength, intelligence, and leadership, and each one of us pushes one another to reach their fullest potential. Because of the friends and mentors I have found through Pi Phi, I have accomplished more in my time here at LMU than I would have ever thought possible. Pi Phi has encouraged me to do things, which I never saw myself doing, such as applying to law school, holding a position on the executive board, and traveling to Haiti as part of an alternative break trip.
5) Studying mechanical engineering and the challenges I faced along the way. Engineering was no walk in the park, and I have spent countless hours and late nights solving single math problems that took up multiple pages, designing prototypes, and studying forces, friction, and thermodynamics. Despite all the hard work and sacrifice I put in to make sure I did well in school, I have developed some of my strongest friendships with my fellow engineers. We succeed together and share our failures together by consistently learning together and teaching one another. Engineering has taught me how to work as a team and taught me not to fear failure. Because of my time studying engineering, I am a stronger woman, I have developed an impeccable work ethic, and I have learned how to balance life, skills that have prepared me for life after graduation and law school.