I am from a large public high school in Nebraska that had great teachers and opportunities. This compelled me to consider Grinnell and its amazing professors who give you personalized attention.

But the community on the cross country team that when I visited ultimately convinced me. I knew that this kind of community was the place I wanted to be!

First-Year Community

Coming into college, I wanted to find my place on the cross country team, succeed in my classes, and figure out how to get a job. I knew I wanted to study computer science with great professors and small class sizes and make money on-campus as well.

My younger self wouldn’t know this, but I accomplished most of them quickly! The only one that took some trial and error was figuring out how to succeed in my classes with the help of my first-year tutorial adviser. It took a bit more time to get adjusted to college classes, but my tutorial professor helped me every step of the way.

Athletics Community

Finding my place on the team was easy! The cross country team does a great job hosting events and creating fun practices. I felt welcomed by just showing up to practice. Cross country also showed me that I am capable of doing something really well. This transferred into confidence in other areas of my life, as well.

Peaceful Grinnell

Computer Science Major

Grinnell’s computer science program focuses heavily on working with other people for projects and post-grad prep. Which meant that I am always working with other people. Computer science at Grinnell has been an awesome way to work with others from different backgrounds from my own, connect with them, and learn from each other. My high school had little diversity, and the student body was mostly a wealthy population, so the geographic, economical, and cultural diversity at Grinnell has been awesome.

My major has created many deep and valuable relationships for me while opening more academic doors for myself. I learned about operating systems with a professor who I got to know pretty well; he was a really great professor to learn from. I also had the same project partner much of that time, and I got to know them very well, too. Outside of computer science, I also got to explore lots of different academic subjects, thanks to the flexibility of Grinnell’s curriculum!

Internship Outdoors 

I spent a summer in Jackson, Wyoming, for a job that focused on the administrative aspects of running a whitewater rafting company. It was an opportunity I came across through a friend at Grinnell. There were long days of work, but the scenery and new friendships with my coworkers made it worth it!

Some of the photos below are from Wyoming, and some are from Iowa, including Grinnell (of course) and Backbone State Park, which is in the northeast part of the state. Backbone State Park especially surprised me; it wasn't something I'd expect to find in Iowa!