From day one, Gettysburg College students find their community on campus. The lifelong friendships formed through academics, activities, and residential living flourish beyond their four years here.
At Gettysburg College, students Do Great Work with support from the community. All across campus—in classrooms, labs, residence halls, the Dining Center, Stine Lake, athletics facilities, recital halls, and more—Gettysburgians meet new people and forge lifelong friendships.
Connections through Campus Recreation
Experiencing his first winter in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was an adjustment for psychology major and Argentina native Lucio Correa ’29. During the College’s winter break, Correa was fortunate to have connected with Director of Campus Recreation and Wellness Annette Hunt-Shepherd, who offered him an on-campus student employment opportunity as a fitness attendant at the John F. Jaeger Center for Athletics, Recreation, and Fitness. There, he met economics major Axel Barrantes ’26, a fellow Campus Recreation student employee from Costa Rica.
“He became like an older brother to me,” Correa said. “Over time, our friendship evolved. We became teammates, co-workers, and even fraternity brothers. Together, we celebrated victories, like winning the three-on-three intramural basketball championship, and endured close losses that mattered just as much.”
“Axel’s energy, generosity, and commitment to the Gettysburg community have shaped the way I see my role within it. Although he is graduating this year, his influence will remain with me. Inspired by his example, I accepted a position as an intramural supervisor, determined to give back to the same community that welcomed me during my most uncertain moment.”
– Lucio Correa ’29
Psychology major
Roommates through Residence Life
Ella Prieto ’26 and Riley Nolan ’26 are what you’d call the ultimate BFFs. The two met during Orientation in Fall 2022, after both signed up for a random roommate assignment. They were placed in Rice Hall, Room 330, their first year.
“We first DM’d over Instagram when the roommate names were released, scheduling a FaceTime call where we bonded over loving One Direction in middle school. I taught her that even though Gettysburg was in Sheetz territory, Wawa is infinitely better,” said Prieto, a public policy and women, gender, and sexuality studies double major from West Chester, Pennsylvania.
When Orientation arrived, Nolan, who was participating in the Garthwait Leadership Center’s (GLC) Ascent Pre-Orientation, invited Prieto to hang out with everyone she’d met through Ascent. There, they formed a bond that has lasted throughout their four years at Gettysburg.
“I cannot emphasize enough how loyal a friend she is and how consistently she will show up for the people she cares about,” said Nolan, an environmental studies and anthropology double major from Newmarket, New Hampshire.
“I came into college an emotional wreck, and Riley did not bat an eye, simply offering a shoulder to cry on at every turn. It has been so amazing to always be able to live together relatively easily.”
– Ella Prieto ’26
Public policy and women, gender, and sexuality studies double major
“Aside from simply pairing us together our first year, the Residential Education system at Gettysburg has made it easy for us to live together, from allowing us to apply as a unit to theme housing to making it easy to find housing for half a year before we went abroad.”
– Riley Nolan ’26
Environmental studies and anthropology double major
Friendship through scholarship
Whether it’s in the classrooms, at the lab bench, or through experiential learning opportunities beyond campus, Gettysburg students build bonds with others through shared academic activities. That’s how Roland Stevens ’28, a mathematics major from Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, met Anindo Majumder ’27, a mathematics and computer science double major from Bangladesh.
“Anindo and I met through Abstract Mathematics II (MATH 315) here last spring,” Stevens said. “We shared similar interests in math, and, more recently, we’ve connected again since I am interested in the Budapest Semesters in Mathematics abroad program. We also like to talk about future courses and opportunities in math-related programs and subjects at the College.”
“MATH 315 was a difficult course,” Majumder said, “but working with Roland during the PLA sessions made it a lot better. We connected a lot during these sessions and discovered that we had a shared interest for mathematical research.”
“Anindo and I hit it off right away since we both attended many of the Exploratorium PLA sessions and worked together on lots of problems.”
– Roland Quinn Stevens ’28
Mathematics major
“Roland is interested in the Budapest Semesters in Mathematics program, and since I’ve already done that, we’ve been talking a lot about all the amazing math-related opportunities that come with the program.”
– Anindo Majumder ’27
Mathematics and computer science double major
Bonds through life’s big moments
Sarah (Pagliocco) Shehata ’15 and Katherine (Fila) Kraus ’15 first met through the Garthwait Leadership Center (GLC). They were both drawn to the GLC for the same reasons—a love of building community, connecting over shared ideas, and a drive to always make things a little better.
What began as a GLC connection turned into a real friendship. “We even reconnected while studying abroad in 2013—proof that no matter where we went, we kept finding our way back to each other,” Kraus said. “By our senior year, we were inseparable, and we closed out our time at Gettysburg with a meaningful trip to Little Rock, Arkansas. That’s still one of our favorite shared memories.”
More than 10 years later, Pagliocco and Kraus remain closely connected through Gettysburg. They’ve stood by each other as bridesmaids in one another’s weddings and now spend time together in each other’s homes, catching up with Sarah’s babies, their partners, and their pets.
“The GLC didn’t just introduce us— it gave us the foundation for a lifelong friendship, and we will always be grateful for that.”
– Katherine (Fila) Kraus ’15
English major with a writing concentration
“What started as being placed as roommates for a few weeks of Leadership Mentor training before we each left for our respective study abroad trips turned into a lifelong friendship. I am so grateful that the GLC brought Katherine and me together.”
– Sarah (Pagliocco) Shehata ’15
Intra-organizational dynamics major
Related Links:
By Michael Vyskocil
All photos by Tyler Caruso, except where noted
Posted: 05/12/26
