Elizabeth "Libby" Dellessio, now a junior, changed colleges after her first year because she wanted a smaller school that was closer to home. When she visited Saint Mary's University in Winona, the bluffs around the campus and the close feel of the community convinced her it was the right choice.
Starting over as a transfer was not easy when it came to meeting people. Following encouragement from her mother to keep joining activities instead of waiting to be invited, Dellessio signed up for clubs, ran for Student Senate and served as a representative for her residence hall, and she says the connections followed.
Her involvement has kept growing since then. She also works in the admissions office and has started a club of her own, and she tells prospective students that at a school this size they will be known by name and able to build real relationships.
Academically, she has changed direction as well, moving her major from chemistry to philosophy. She says she values learning to think for herself and studying questions about why people act as they do and why laws are written the way they are.
After graduation, Dellessio hopes to take part in missionary work. She points to the De La Salle Christian Brothers and to relatives who served in the Peace Corps as examples of learning a path in life by serving other people.
