Student Life as a Commuter: Riding in from Rhode Island
By Cyrena Gawuga (SSW‘19)
Let me introduce myself: My name is Cyrena. I have an academic background in medical science and I am a macro practice major. As a full-time student, I also travel to the Boston campus from Providence, RI—not the typical commute.
There is no denying it—commuting can be a real grind. For both semesters of my first year, I had class at 8:00 am. To get to class on time, I took the commuter rail from Providence, RI (10 minutes from my house) to Back Bay station. Then, I walked from the commuter rail station to the Copley train station and took the local train to the BU Central stop. If you factor in one snooze cycle and making lunch, that means that I got up at 5:00 am to make it to campus on time—well, about 30 minutes early—for class.
The cost of commuting this far is not inexpensive. However, when I compare the cost of my commute and rent in Providence to the cost of living in Boston, I am spending about half of what I would be spending if I lived in Boston. I do not go to many evening events on campus because I need to leave soon after class if I want to get home at a decent hour, but I still manage to be involved in activities on campus. I’ve also perfected the art of packing everything I need for a 10-hour day in one bag while traveling as light as possible. An iPad and a keyboard are just as good as a laptop and much lighter!
Commuting has its advantages. For instance, for an hour each way I have lots of time. The morning trip gives me time to prepare and the evening trip gives me time to decompress. Sometimes I put in my headphones and listen to a podcast while other times I’m perilously close to a paper deadline, so I commandeer one of the tables on the train to finish my work. I also do a fair amount of reading on the train. Reading everything on the train right before class makes me super prepared for class discussions! But, frankly, there are some days when the only thing I do on the train is play Candy Crush or take a nap.
If you are thinking of becoming a commuter like me, I do have a few recommendations that make it much easier to manage. First, if you stack your classes so that you only have class a couple of days a week, you can build a schedule that allows you to stay in your hometown more often. Second, if you utilize one of the internship opportunities that BUSSW has outside of the Boston area you can have an easier commute on days when you are at your internship. Students in our program can have internships all over—I even know of a student who interned in Providence.
Commuting to BUSSW is many things—tiring, frustrating, and even relaxing. But it’s definitely worth it.