When you attend classes at a small school, certain perks come as no surprise. The small class sizes, the personal relationships with faculty and staff, and the close-knit community are all expected; however, several less commonly flaunted gems also exist. I have come to call these perks and quirks #justdaementhings.

If you’ve ever resided at Daemen University, there’s a good chance you know what it’s like to roll out of bed 10 minutes before class starts and still make it on time. Building 96, to Wick, to Schenck in under 15? Girl, you have plenty of time for lunch (and probably a nap)! Ah, #justdaementhings.

Despite the compact nature of Daemen’s landscape, the trek up to the fifth floor of Canavan Hall (Canny) was always sure to get your steps in and heartrate up. For my nonresidential friends, perhaps you’d better relate to the breathlessness of climbing to the third floor of Duns Scotus Hall (DS), five minutes before chem lab begins. Oh yeah, and it was titration lab day. Nothing screams two-sport athlete like trying to play it cool while feverishly sucking air at the top of the staircase. Luckily, my days spent in DS came long before mask-wearing was a thing.

Speaking of a good aerobic challenge, have you ever tried to sprint from the business building to the Academic and Wellness Center (AWC) and back in order to get in a good lift before class? There’s a solid chance you complained about having to walk up one of two hills on campus (and you for sure got stuck at the light every time you were in a rush). But at least there was no wind, and the sun was shining … right? Haha, #justdaementhings.

As thrilling as it was to take advantage of the physically small campus, nothing quite beat the thrill of free food at every TGIF (a weekly Student Activities event featuring different hosts, themes, and food and refreshments). What else says #justdaementhings like pizza logs and wings at the Wildcat Den? And, remember, blue cheese only. #buffalove. TGIF was the perfect way to save yourself a meal swipe, because after all, no one wants to run out of swipes before “nug night!” Saturday night diners – you know what I’m talking about.

If you’ve stuck around Damen long enough, chances are you know the 24/7 library grind, ordering a small coffee at 78 West only to have the barista give you a medium because “you look like you could use it.”  Maybe you really did need it though, after requesting ear plugs from the circulation desk at the Research and Information Commons (RIC). Because after all, it’s not always quiet on the quiet floor. Doesn’t ring a bell? Probably because you were the one having a little too much fun on the quiet floor. I can’t blame you though, because we all know Sunday Funday at the library is only fun if that quizlet you’ve been working on all afternoon is splitting screen time with the Buffalo Bills. We’ll call this one, #justbuffalocollegestudentsingeneral.

One thing I’ve always appreciated about Daemen is the friendly Buffalo charm of its employees. If you ever had a rough start to your morning, only to be greeted by Don the Campus Safety officer, your rough morning didn’t last too long. Starving and a tad “hangry?” Imagine this: you get up to the Wick Dining Room (Wick), and your man Anthony is at the omelet station. Or, perhaps, you missed Anthony at breakfast, but caught Larry at the wrap station for lunch. Don’t worry about repeating your order, because they’ve already got it down. Day is made. And, even if omelets and wraps aren’t your thing, how could we forget about Wick’s creative side? If you ever partook in the PBJ glazed doughnut ham and cheese sandwich bar, you, my friend, experienced #justdaementhings to the extreme.

As a sixth year physical therapy student, I’ve had the unique pleasure of experiencing #justdaementhings beyond the typical four-year stay. While many things are unique to just Daemen, I’ve come to learn that my name is not among the list of oddities. Freshman year, I entered into Daemen’s Class of 2020 as one of three Hannah Millers. Despite our varying majors, it was clear that this similarity would leave us with some interesting stories to tell. Perhaps my favorite #justdaementhing was being vetted at nearly every meal swipe. Are you the real deal? Are you sure? As it turns out, my face plus the wrong Hannah Miller’s ID number equaled a dining dollar nightmare. Don’t worry though, there’s a warning that pops up every time we scan our ID’s now. “There are three Hannah Millers! Check ID!”

Since the commencement of the Hannah Miller trio, I have had the pleasure of being added to multiple email chains and group projects to which I likely did not belong but always enjoyed forwarding. No, sorry, I am not the physician assistant Hannah Miller, or the nursing Hannah Miller. And yes, once the nursing Hannah Miller left, a freshman education major Hannah Miller came. But no, I’m not her either. Try one of these emails instead.

While I have never been the No. 1 Hannah (literally, my email is hannah.miller2), several staff members took a liking to referring to me as “Hannah Miller No. 1.” You know the saying, No. 2 in the email, No. 1 in our hearts. Or something like that.

Perhaps the most comedic Hannah Miller mix up was when the real Hannah Miller No. 1 messaged me to say she received my athletics stole in the mail by accident. She had never participated in sports at Daemen, but I told her she should probably just keep it. Hopefully one day when she goes to show her children photographic evidence, they will see the image of Jason Miller in place of my roster picture. To be honest, I was hesitant to point that one out to the Athletics Department. His picture turned out far better than mine ever did, so I kind of wish they never switched us back. But, what can I say? #justdaementhings.

As my time at Daemen nears its end, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reflecting back on my many special moments as a Wildcat. The more I learned about the perks and quirks of attending a small school, the more I learned to appreciate the things that make Daemen so unique. Entering university as a freshman, there’s often all these worries about, “what if I chose the wrong school,” or “what if I made the wrong decision?” After years of experiencing all that Daemen has to offer, I can honestly tell you that there’s no place I would rather be. I am proud to be a part of the Daemen community. Perks, quirks, and all, some things you just can’t experience anywhere else. Some things are #justdaementhings.

A socially distant goodbye,

Hannah Miller (No. 2)