The University of Dayton offers great opportunities to all of us who have

the privilege of attending. It offers a great chance to get involved with

the community in multiple formats on various levels, a well- rounded education and a completely unique - almost utopian - student housing

situation.



New opportunities can be found all over campus. They hang recklessly from

billboards, flood our inboxes daily and are even scribbled on bed sheets

draped over Ghetto porches. The only downside: opportunities are so

plentiful there are some that slip through the cracks and go unnoticed.



It's time to sit up, pay attention and take notice of an opportunity for

UD students that is severely under-utilized. The Chaminade University

Exchange Program, the likes of which is offered at only one other

school in the country, is an opportunity offered through UD.



This exchange program sends UD students to Chaminade University of

Honolulu for a semester. That's the capital of Hawaii for our

geographically challenged friends.



How? Well, Chaminade University, UD and St. Mary's University in San

Antonio are all Marianist universities and are considered sister schools.

This relationship allows for the unique experience of living on an island

in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.



The semester costs the same in terms of tuition because you are still

paying UD directly and housing is quite comparable. The only thing that

makes a semester in Hawaii more costly is the flight and the overall cost

of living (food especially): A price well worth it.



Eleven UD students, including myself, are just about six weeks into our

semester at Chaminade, and trust me when I tell you, it is amazing. Most

of us live a little under a mile from the Pacific Ocean and some live

even closer. We go to the beach before class, after class and,

occasionally, instead of class.



It's a life imagined by few and lived by even fewer. It's never hotter than 90 degrees and never cooler than 70. It never rains for more than 20 minutes at a time and the place earns its "Rainbow State" nickname with one almost everyday. We've gone sailing on the Pacific, hiking in the

jungle and snorkeling in the crystal clear water. We've seen sea turtles and sunsets and have been attacked by jelly fish. We've paddled-out,

crashed hard and even surfed a wave or two. If it sounds like paradise,

it is, and you don't truly know paradise until you're here.



Opportunities are everywhere, but opportunities like this only come

once in a lifetime. If you're an under-classman and enjoy traveling then

I highly recommend that you look into this program. But, even in the

midst of an unimaginable experience like this, it speaks volumes of the

University of Dayton that I can honestly say I miss it. I'll have my fun

in paradise, but I'll be back and better for it.