“IF” by Cassondra Marshall

“IF”

by Cassondra Marshall, written for the faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends of UAHuntsville

If it were just a school,

Surely we wouldn’t be so grieved.

And if they were only teachers,

We’d accept the news we have received

With no thought of what it means

To have walked up and down those halls,

Or the privilege of saying

We learned within those walls.

If it were merely an institution,

We’d just shrug off this disaster.

If they were just instructors,

None of this would even matter.

If we had only gotten

A receipt with our degrees

Then we’d see the same victims

That everyone else sees.

But if I could just be honest

In hopes of shedding light,

I’d tell a tale that’s different

From what others say and write.

I would say that I grew up

In Central Campus Residence Hall,

And that I’m a better person

For having answered the Charger call.

I would say that I was nurtured

By the best school staff in the nation.

And that I have walked away

With much more than education.

That I was mentored by professors

Whose classes I never took,

And gained more from their influence

Than from 20 million books.

I’d say that UAHuntsville

Is much more than just a college,

And as a UAH student,

I obtained much more than knowledge.

And if I were a gambler,

I’d bet that I’m not alone

In writing, thinking, and feeling

That UAH was more like home.