By Ricky Thompson

When junior communications major Julie Zivic began co-op in New York nearly two years ago, she had no idea how many opportunities were still ahead.

In addition to gathering lifelong contacts and valuable work experience while interning on the MTV show “Made,” Zivic returned to campus with something much less anticipated: a long-distance relationship.

“We weren’t really serious until right before I came back,” she said.

After her rotation had come to a close, Zivic was forced to adjust toward a new class schedule as well as a new lifestyle.

“It sucked, because we hadn’t built up a strong trust yet,” she said. “We didn’t know each other that well and we didn’t trust each other.”

Since then, Zivic said she has become more comfortable with not only her boyfriend, but also the distance that separates them. She recently completed a second rotation in the Empire State that created a closer proximity to her beau.

“This second time, since we’ve been together longer, coming back to school was a lot easier,” Zivic said. “I trust him more now and I know he won’t cheat, but the first time I left we had only been serious [about the relationship] for a little while, so you didn’t know what the other person was doing.”

One of the most impacted changes to her regular routine was a reduced desire for socializing, Zivic said.

“It’s hard, because you’re at school and they’re not here and you want to party and go out, but not as much,” she said. “A lot of times you would go out to meet guys, but now you don’t really want to meet anyone — it’s different. I don’t go out as much as I used to.”

Middler psychology major Katie Flora said she has also undergone similar obstacles in her relationship.

Last summer, she and her boyfriend were separated by an eight-hour drive that would make a clear cut across the state of Pennsylvania.

Flora said an important aspect of managing the distance was establishing how long each person in the relationship could remain apart before a boiling point was reached.