Key Hartwick Activities: Outdoor Club, Awakening, Blue Key, Challenge Education, Pine Lake Club, Grassroots Environmental Club, UNTITLED Art Club, Association of Student Nurses, 'Wick SAA, SLOPES Ski Club
Career Plans: I am interested in maternity nursing and travel nursing, and I hope to pursue further education to become a nurse midwife. I would love to travel internationally, and joining the Peace Corps is a possibility. My time at Pine Lake has allowed me to acquire a knowledge of an appreciation for simple and sustainable living, and I plan to incorporate these ideas into my post-college lifestyle.
Most Influential Class: My J Terms in Madagascar and Jamaica have deeply evolved my learning and understanding of the world. I've explored cultures much different from my own, studying and mutually sharing ways of life. Both countries presented a foreign culture and language, things I overcame by devoting time to communication and interaction with the local people. I learned that mutual clarification of cultural generalizations can lead to improved understanding of one another. Traveling to countries with populations predominantly of a lower socioeconomic class also has allowed me to realize the overwhelming resources available to me and the unequal balance of capital across the globe.
Outstanding Experience: Pine Lake has become my home, my living classroom, and a part of my family. Living away from the main campus has taught me to maintain a comfortable living space; prepare my own food; and achieve a healthy balance between my academics, extracurricular activities, and personal time. This place has sparked a passion for learning because I am surrounded by diverse personalities and opportunities. Conversations around campfires, sunset paddles, searching for salamanders, and hearing the song of spring peepers have become part of my lifestyle. Living in a cabin and carpooling to campus have allowed me to appreciate a simple lifestyle that incorporates the idea of sustainability, and I have begun to question aspects of mainstream culture that promote a life of excess. I've also realized the value of living in the present tense and sharing time with those I love.
About My Professors: Sandy McKane (music) and Peggy Jenkins (nursing) are two names that especially come to mind. They are both strong-willed women who are dedicated to their students, work, families, and activities outside of Hartwick. It's reassuring to see examples of people who have efficient time management and do the many things they love. They have pushed me to surpass my own limits, recognize my strengths, and always look for areas of improvement.
