Looking back now, I feel like I didn\u2019t take enough time to appreciate all of the opportunities that I’ve been given. I didn\u2019t understand the full impact UB would have on my education and, more importantly, on who I am as a person. I came here dreaming about getting my degree in four years, learning as much as I could, making an impact on the track team and nothing else. I didn\u2019t think about what would happen to me as an individual \u2013 my interests and my goals outside of school and track. As the old saying goes, I missed the forest for the trees.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes I wish I could go back and grab my younger self by the shoulders and tell her to have fun, make more mistakes, talk to more people, laugh, cry and love more. Because now, a little over four years later, what I cherish the most are not the papers I\u2019ve written, the exams I\u2019ve aced or the framed diploma. Instead, it\u2019s the laughs shared with my classmates while we stressed over a project, the post-exam cheers, the jokes about dropping out and the hours spent talking to professors who became mentors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s so much more to college than grades, honors and what\u2019s on your resume. I\u2019m not saying those things don\u2019t matter, but remember to enjoy your time here while it lasts. Over the last couple of years, Buffalo turned into a place I call home and the people I\u2019ve met here \u2013 my teammates, classmates, professors, and the Starbucks baristas \u2013 have become my family.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What will always be special about Buffalo is the community, one that you\u2019ll never find anywhere else. I\u2019ve met some of my best friends here and some of my undergraduate professors are still people that I reach out to whenever I need help or just want someone to talk to. I\u2019ve traveled thousands of miles and left my childhood friends and family and everything that meant comfort to me on a different continent, but I don\u2019t regret it. People here have told me to, \u201cKeep Buffalo a secret,\u201d and to this day, it remains my favorite one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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![\"Alexia](\"http:\/\/ubwp.buffalo.edu\/business-management-mba-ms\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/33\/2024\/01\/Alexia-Hecico-MSBA-24-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>Bio: Alexia<\/a> was born and raised in Romania, where she spent her early childhood in Bucharest and later moving to Baia Mare. She grew up practicing different sports with the most impactful ones being swimming and running. Under her parents\u2019 coaching, running became her specialty during high school. Alexia represented the Romanian Mountain Running National Team at various international competitions including the European and World Championships where she placed in the top 6 individually and medaled with the National Team.\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n After high school, Alexia accepted an athletic scholarship from the University at Buffalo and made the move across the ocean a few months after her father\u2019s death. During her undergraduate program, Alexia was a member of the track and field and cross-country teams while pursuing a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in marketing. She also worked as a Teaching Assistant during her junior and senior years. She is now pursuing a MSBA while working as a marketing intern for UB Athletics and being an academic performance specialist within the Athletics Department.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n In her free time, Alexia enjoys traveling and watching sports\u2014her favorites are tennis, basketball, Formula 1, track, swimming, and almost all winter sports. She also enjoys reading, writing, and spending time with family and friends.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Written by: Alexia Hecico, MS in Business Analytics ’24 I remember my first day at UB. I was 19 and had just traveled for over 30 hours. You would expect me to say I was tired, overwhelmed and scared, but Continue reading Buffalo: A Place I Now Call Home\u00a0<\/span>