I have been fortunate enough in my short tenure at Yeshiva to meet and befriend an eclectic collection of individuals. Yeshiva manages to attract students, faculty and administrators from the farthest corners of the earth; all with vastly differing Jewish backgrounds from orthodox, to conservative, to reform, to non-practicing, to unaffiliated. For any outsider not immersed in Yeshiva's curious culture, it is near impossible to fathom a diverse setting on our Washington Heights campus. However, a cornucopia of personalities create an extraordinarily healthy atmosphere at our upper, upper, upper west side college and distinguish the uptown campus of YU the most diverse college in America serving over a thousand students of the same religion and gender.

With the exception of a number of faculty members practicing different religions, Yeshiva is comprised only of Jewish males. That alone should not set off the siren on the diversity alarm. The diversity to which I am referring is not necessarily in the faces themselves, but rather in the stories behind each and every one.

If you ask around, you will find that the road to Yeshiva is not a straight one. The path is often curved, bumpy and occasionally unpaved. Many students viewed YU as their only option from the beginning, as Yeshiva provides the only logistical method of learning Torah while receiving a valid bachelor's degree. For others, pressure from family members, friends and rabbeim nudged students into their stays here. Many arrived due to Yeshiva's outstanding reputation both as a religious center and a secular college. Some found their way to Washington Heights in an attempt to strengthen their basic Jewish education and take on a completely new way of life. For a few, this was the only university their parents would even consider sending their children to. Many students currently enrolled never could have imagined they would ever be attending Yeshiva. Amazingly enough, there are those that are to this day not exactly sure how they arrived here at all.

There are students that spent every day of their educations in private religious institutions, while public school dwellers also inhabit our campus. Students spending a year at various Yeshivot in Israel now share the same college as those never laying foot in our Holy land. English and Hebrew are not the only tongues spoken on the YU campus. Russian, French, Spanish, Arabic as well as many other assorted languages are familiar sounds to Yeshiva students. There are Chabad and Chassidic contingencies as well as those few that try their best to steer clear of religious observance. Yeshiva sports 'gym rats' and those unfit for physical activity. There are the big wigs on campus and there are anti-big wigs as well. There are students taking part in various clubs and activities while some are focused only on school work. There are the guys who will dress only in slacks and solid button down shirts, but there are others who will occasionally wear stripes, plaid or even sweats.

Of those attending, many have found what they are looking for at Yeshiva. Unfortunately, others have not. Certain students have found YU to be everything they expected. Many others have found Yeshiva to be nothing at all like they imagined, enjoying the experience none-the-less.

I can only wish for my fellow students, that you have a sense of fulfillment in your decision to come to Yeshiva. Someone, somewhere saw a purpose for your arrival at this unique, sometimes bizarre institution. My hope, is that each and every student will identify that purpose which landed them in our bastion of modern orthodoxy and much, much more, and I hope that you can come to understand that purpose, and live your lives accordingly.

I struggle every day to find the driving force that sent me to Yeshiva, and it is only fair that I follow my own advice. Hopefully before I go, I will identify my own purpose for arriving here along with the plethora of different characters that make up the college I will one day call my alma mater.

But should I fail to do so, all is not necessarily lost. The path of life is similar to the road that leads to Yeshiva. It too is often curved, bumpy and occasionally unpaved. Many times, we do not see the turns that lie ahead, and we cannot understand how one stopping point can lead to another later down the road. But for some reason or another, we all have arrived to spend what many deem the best years of our lives at Yeshiva. Lets take advantage of these years, and everything this university has to offer. For if nothing else, Yeshiva is a diverse university that is surely the only of its kind.