![Players kneel on the field for A Call to Men Football Camp](/sites/default/files/styles/width_550/public/2024-06/a_call_to_men_football_camp_2024_03.jpeg?h=9d677d3a&itok=XP3ZzwpA)
Making Friends in Madrid
![Shauna Dieffenbach 13](/sites/default/files/styles/width_960/public/2019-01/shauna_dieffenbach_13.jpg?h=d7a74a48&itok=3W2abHnt)
In her own words, UC alum Shauna Dieffenbach '13 discusses her experiences at Utica College studying Spanish and History and how pleasantly surprised she was at the affordability of a UC education.
I had my heart set on going to Utica College, but my parents thought we couldn't afford a private school. After Utica awarded me a scholarship, we made all the calculations and were pleasantly surprised to see that it cost about the same as a larger public university.
I was a foreign languages major and a history minor. It was really challenging because we had to take so many culture and language classes. And my senior thesis had to be a 19-page paper, and the language I chose to write it in was Spanish. My topic was bullfighting in contemporary Spain. It gave me leeway where I could take so many culture classes and I could study abroad, which I did. I went to Madrid to do research. I met so many people. I have Spanish friends now, and we Skype every week, and we just catch up. I want to go back. I would live in Spain because I just love it.
I discovered here that I’m a born leader. I helped to re-establish Circle K my freshman year and then it got officially put as an international chapter last year. I’m not afraid now to stand up for what’s right. I used to be very, very quiet in high school. I would live in theatre and lacrosse, and that was it. I’m very active, and I just never realized how involved I am until I was applying for graduate school and the stuff I was involved with on campus was like a page and a half long. I’ve done Leadership Weekend at UC, which was really, really fun. I did tours and telecounseling for Admissions. That was my chance to show new students why I love this school.
I’m pretty sure if I had gone to another school I wouldn’t have been heard and I wouldn’t be as driven to go out and do the things I did here. This school always pushed me to keep going. Your professors support you.
More Stories
![Players kneel on the field for A Call to Men Football Camp](/sites/default/files/styles/width_550/public/2024-06/a_call_to_men_football_camp_2024_03.jpeg?h=9d677d3a&itok=XP3ZzwpA)
![Teacher in a classroom with students raising their hands.](/sites/default/files/styles/width_550/public/2022-05/classroom_teacher_with_students_-_education.jpg?h=4d1c0e98&itok=sBiGr9K1)
Utica University Receives $1.2 Million NYS Grant for Accelerated Educator Preparation Program; Teacher Candidate Applications Now Open
![A blue Utica University banner hangs outside Rocco DePerno Hall.](/sites/default/files/styles/width_550/public/2022-03/Blue%20University%20Banner%20outside%20DePerno%20-%20Campus%20Scenic%20Winter%2022.jpg?h=2099b46d&itok=2Fe85_V1)
Utica University announces new leadership roles
I would like to see logins and resources for:
For a general list of frequently used logins, you can also visit our logins page.