Q&A with incoming freshmen Laura Ruiz (LR) and Kevin Flaherty (KF)

Where are you from/ where did you go to high school?

K.F. – Danvers, St. John’s Prep—coming from the prep, there’s a ton of prep pride and it seems like there’s a lot of Suffolk pride and that was attractive to me.

L.R. – Belmont High School

Why did you choose Suffolk?

K.F. – I only applied to two schools. I looked extensively at a lot of schools. It came down to Suffolk and Northeastern. I’ve been into Suffolk many times, saw the programs, internships, and coop opportunities, which are on par with Northeastern. I love the location. I felt welcomed into Suffolk. I’ve been to the campus a lot of times, and checked out the dorms, classes, etc. I felt like I was already a part of the Suffolk community right off the bat.

L.R. – I really wanted to go to a school in London. I couldn’t go because of financial issues, and Suffolk was the next best choice. I liked it for communication and film studies.

Do you have a major or know what you want to study?

K.F. – Business Administration. I plan on going on to five-year masters program.

L.R. – Somewhat,  yeah. Film studies, communications, international relations—along those lines.

What about coming to college are you most excited about?

K.F. – Being able to live on your own but with everyone else, and to be able to strive for the same goals as everyone else. Just being in a community with people who are like me yet completely different from me. Also, getting a degree so I can make good money after college.

L.R. – Just meeting new people, going to a bigger school and learning new things, not like the regular stuff to learned in high school.

Are you living in a dorm, commuting, or living in an apartment?

K.F. – I plan on living two years in the dorm.

L.R. – Commuting.  I’m hoping to do a semester abroad pretty soon, probably the second semester.

If dorm, what are you looking forward to about living in a dorm?

K.F. – Living with a ton of people, all friends my age. I’m really excited about it even though I’m an only child.

What are you most excited about studying abroad?

L.R. – Just traveling, getting to know new places, and meeting new people and getting to study in a different place.

How familiar are you with Boston? What’s your favorite part of/ thing to do in Boston?

K.F. – Really familiar. I’m in love with that city. Every chance I can to get in there I’m there. There’s never just one thing to do. There’s the North End if you want to eat—a lot of stuff around to have fun—Copley has the best shopping centers. Club Rise is a lot of fun too. It’s Boston, you can’t get bored. There’s a million things to do.

L.R. – Pretty familiar. I have a lot of friends that go to Suffolk. I pretty much go there every weekend so I know the campus already. My favorite thing to do is probably just go out and get cheap food. There are a lot of places to go.

Are you planning on joining any clubs or organizations at Suffolk? If so, what sorts of clubs?

K.F. – I haven’t been to a presentation where they show the clubs and things you can join. If there’s an investment club, I’m a geek like that—Political clubs. I experimented with Young Libertarians at my high school and definitely was more active in the Young Republicans club.

L.R. – I haven’t really looked into them. If there’s an activities fair I’ll look into them but I don’t know about many yet—Probably volunteer stuff, things to do with international relations—Model UN or something like that.

What are you looking for in your classes?

K.F. –Active teachers that are excited to teach, anyone I can connect with on the personal level—learning from professors that have real world experience in the stuff I’m interested in.

L.R. – I guess learning new stuff and starting to learn more about what I want to do. You can actually pick your classes and actually want to go to class.