Johnson & Wales University Denver - Closing

Last week the news was announced that Johnson & Wales University in Denver and the North Miami campus will be closing in summer 2021. I was absolutely shocked by this news. For those of you that don’t know, Johnson & Wales University (JWU) in Denver is where I went to college from 2012-2014. I have many mixed opinions on college, but for the purpose of this post, I want to stick to all of the things JWU Denver did for me.

Unseen footage from JWU Denver when I was sending photos in for Miss USA. Photo Credit: Tom O’Hearn

I transferred into JWU at 19 with an associates degree. Moving to Denver from Lamar was one of the scariest things I had done at that point in my life. I had no concept of sharing a space with anyone let alone two people (shoutout to Cassidy & Lakkia for being the best roommates), I didn’t understand traffic, or other cultures, or religions, or listening to other view points, or really anything outside of my hometown. I had only driven on the interstate one time prior to coming to college (LOL!). I did, however, understand partying, working, and excelling in school work.

I remember heading off to college with the preconceived idea that I would find my best friends and meet the love of my life. (HAHAHA in hindsight at the love of my life part). I met some of my best friends to this day from JWU Denver. Both my roommates Cassidy & Lakkia are two of the most incredible people I’ve ever met. We are all very different so living together was a learning experience. I will forever remember Johnson Hall 527, our triple bunk bed, me waking Lakkia up at 7am because I needed someone to talk to, the light falling off the ceiling, our positive affirmations, and our genuine love and respect for each other. All of us are in very different places in our lives now, but I know we each hold a special place for one another in our hearts.

Another one of my best friends to this day I met at JWU, whom I’m seeing this weekend for the 4th of July, Whitney Denton. We met in a WIGIS group (I do not remember what WIGIS means), but I looked around my group for anyone I thought I could be friends with. I saw another blonde girl, and the rest is history. We have been great friends ever since.

While at JWU, I had the opportunity to study abroad in the summer of 2013. I went to Costa Rica. My first trip out of the country! I, of course, had done almost no research on the country, my cellphone didn’t work there, I didn’t know anything about customs, I didn’t speak Spanish, but I was in for the adventure…. and that’s exactly what it was. The most incredible adventure. I spent a month in Costa Rica with 24 other students from the other JWU campuses. We traveled the country, learned, partied, connected with each other, and built friendships and memories I’ll cherish for the rest of my life. I still talk to a few of the people I was on that trip with; even-though, our lives have all went in different directions.

JWU for me was not an education, it was an opportunity .(I should mention that I did graduate with a 3.9GPA and a degree in Hospitality). An opportunity for me to start deciding who I wanted to be and who I am. It was the first step in me leaving my hometown to see what I really wanted in life. I experienced so much in my short 2 years at JWU Denver, and I am sad to see it close down. I think it is one of the most beautiful campuses, and I hope that whatever happens to the buildings they are still kept as beautiful as they are now.

I do not use my degree from JWU, and might not ever, but that does not change what going to college at JWU Denver did for me, from experiences, to connections, to friendships, to life lessons, to starting to learn who I truly was and am as a person.

If you went to JWU, I would love to know your favorite memory.

As always, thank you for reading!

XO,

Madison