Leah DeHaemer / The Hofstra Chronicle
“Here at Hofstra, probably my favorite thing so far has easily been the pep band, ‘cause I’ve been playing since like kindergarten, and it’s just kind of been a constant. There’s like a nice family aspect, you know? And so, with that, I was able to move in early. I was the only one in my building; it was cool. It gets you a good feel [of Hofstra], and all the people are just really, really cool, and I love them to death, like, all of them. And it’s just a great experience, ‘cause, like, the games are free, the music is pretty cool – like Daft Punk, whew, Daft Punk though. Daft Punk is cool, I like that song a lot. It’s just a really good community experience, like, we’re doing our own little Thanksgiving; it’s adorable, I love it. It’s so wholesome, but also the best part is that it’s student run. So, it [has] a very loose element to it. It’s not like, ‘Ugh, do this, do this, do this.’ It’s like, ‘We’re gonna do this, but it’s gonna be fun! It’s gonna be awesome!’ It’s just a lot of fun. [Another thing I do at Hofstra is Thursday Nite Live (TNL)]. TNL’s been really cool, since I’ve always enjoyed doing acting in videos, ‘cause I did a lot of videos when I was a kid. Or like just a couple years ago, ‘Kitchen Time 2’ [on YouTube], go watch it. But I never had the courage to get in front of people; that’s why I never did drama or theater, although I really wanted to for a long time. But the sad thing was, I didn’t really get to be very outgoing ‘til it was too late. And so [TNL] was one of the first things I found out about here, ‘cause I love, like, improv stuff, like that stuff’s cool. And I love being in front of people now, apparently, I don’t know – maybe, I don’t know yet. But it’s a cool introduction to acting, in a very loose yet heavily supported way that really focuses on growth, I feel like. It’s another one of those cool community experiences where the people are really cool, and they’re helping me. And it’s just fun, and I get to dress up as a ravioli. It’s exciting.
