Why And Why Am I Here?

“Why am I here?” is a question without a singular answer. If asked in a strictly literal sense; it’s because I drove here earlier this month. If in the strictly philosophical sense “Why am I here?” is being asked, then I have to admit I don’t know. However I believe that in this instance, the question is looking for an answer in between: why, out of America’s numerous universities, did I choose Northeastern?

Answering that “Why am I here?” in particular requires going back around four years, when I was a freshman in high school, rather than in college. I had (extremely hesitantly) signed up for a new program just being started that year. Known as the STEM program (science, technology, engineering, mathematics), it promised a focus on science and

With the prestigious glamour of those names off the table, I was left to decide between the schools who - despite lacking the same sort of instant name recognition - all had excellent programs. It eventually came down to California Polytechnic and Northeastern. I traveled all the way to California, and loved every second of it. However, what I did realize was that California is a long way away. Returning home would have to be occasional, twice a year at best. Northeastern, on the other hand, is several hours away from my hometown of Bangor Maine. Besides the distance, the other main selling point for Northeastern was the co-op program. Shortly before I had to make my decision regarding the school I’d attend, my brother got a co-op in Geneva at CERN, with a generous travel stipend on top of that. The opportunity co-ops represented - to be able to travel and experience other cultures while getting work experience - seemed too valuable to pass up, and so I chose