Key Hartwick Activities: Honors Program, Pre-Med Program, Tri Beta Biology Honors Society, Resident Advisor Staff, Alpha Psi Omega
Career Plans: I plan to apply to medical school. I also hope to continue the research I've started here at Hartwick and I'd like to travel more. I don't know exactly how I will do all that yet, but if the opportunity presents itself, I know I'll be taking it.
Most Influential Class: My J Term class in Thailand freshman year set the path I would take at Hartwick. Here I was, six months out of high school, hiking in the hills of northern Thailand, riding elephants, and studying nutrition. Our study was valuable, but even more amazing was the small backpack we brought with us filled with nothing more than over-the-counter medications. We treated toothaches, fevers, earaches, rashes, and more. The thanks we got from the villagers would make you think that we had cured them of cancer, but in reality we gave them less Advil than many of us keep in our desk drawers.
I flew home to the U.S. and realized that Hartwick was offering me the exact education I wanted: a combination of experiences that makes me think beyond our hilly campus. I've also studied off campus in Costa Rica and South Africa.
Outstanding Experience: I've enjoyed a lot of things so far in college, but the one that comes to mind has been working as a Blue Key Admissions tour guide. I have been able to share my experiences with others and meet interesting people who are visiting the College. I've also really enjoyed Guiding Eyes for the Blind. I raised a guiding eye dog, Frazier, on campus this past year. Not only is it how I've chosen to offer community service while in college, but having a dog on campus helps me and many others feel as if Hartwick is more of a home than any other school.
About My Professors: Biology professor Stan Sessions opened my eyes to things I never dreamed possible. He never says no and is always interested in my questions. He encourages me to conduct research that is now sending me to Cambridge University next January on an Emerson International Internship Scholarship. One Thursday afternoon while discussing thesis ideas with me, Professor Sessions suggested I try to write them up for the Freedman Prize. A good experience no matter what—then I asked when it was due: Monday, he said. Needless to say, that night I wrote a first draft that was edited the next morning and a second one that was done by that afternoon. Over the weekend we went through several more drafts and, amazingly, it was done by Monday. That was only my sophomore year.
