For students enrolled in morning classes, an 8:15 class usually requires the student on campus to wake up around 7:45. The student driving to campus wakes up around 7. Phil and Mikal Brisbon, public transportation commuters, wake up at 5 in order to make it to their 8:15 class on time.
“There have been days when we would walk to school from the R5 train station and see the Cabrini shuttle drive past us,” Mikal, freshman graphic design major, said.
Mornings for Phil and Mikal begin early and end late in the night. From their home in West Philadelphia, they walk to the Overbrook train station and usually leave their homes at 6:30. Their train, the R5, comes at 6:59 and the Cabrini shuttle comes at 7:35 on an ideal day.
“The worst thing is when the train is late because it’s a domino effect. When the train is late we miss the shuttle and in conclusion we miss our 8:15 class,” Mikal said.
During the winter months traveling to and from school became even harder for the twins.
“It was really hard because as long as there was snow on the ground, trains were extremely late. Waiting in the cold for long periods of time made me sick multiple times,” Phil, freshman graphic design major, said.
Mikal and Phil leave campus on the 8:46 shuttle and arrive at the R5 train at 8:55. The train then comes at 9:18 and they arrive home around 10:15.
“Our days are run by times, if we miss one time we will either arrive home later or arrive to school late and teachers don’t believe that our trains are late,” Mikal said.
With a student body of 1,600 and two-thirds of students living on campus. Cabrini has a large number of commuters traveling to and from school each day but very few students travel taking public transportation. Cabrini is 30 minutes driving distance from Phildelphia but Mikal and Phil travel three hours to and from school daily.
Mikal and Phil chose to attend Cabrini because it was financially suitable.
“I am glad I did not attend Drexel. I don’t think I would have gotten the same college experience as I did at Cabrini,”Mikal said.
Aside from going to classes, Mikal and Phil usually spend their days doing homework in the library. Mikal takes guitar lessons on campus and Phil plays bass. Both are members of the Black Student Union and Phil is a member of the fashion club.
They have found friends who allow them to stay over night if they miss their train or shuttle.
Mikal says being at Cabrini brought his life full circle.
“Even though getting to school may be a little rough on some days, I enjoy campus. A lot of my life is here. I have made great friends and my grades are pretty decent,” Mikal said.
The twins live in a sizable family and said it is difficult to go home and study or do homework when their mom is making them do chores.
“To live on campus would give more focus to my life and my responsibilities,” Mikal said.
Mikal received good news in early March. He will be a
