Approaching my college search, I honed in on small liberal arts colleges. Coming from a large urban public high school, I wanted to go somewhere where I could feel supported and gain expertise from people who really know what they are talking about. I wanted an environment where I could grow and develop freely and get outside my comfort zone.
Ultimately the thing that made me choose Grinnell was the enthusiasm and passion of the student body. When I was visiting, every student seemed to be on top of the work they were doing and excited about the things they were studying. I saw here how I would be surrounded by individuals who challenge themselves and how that would inspire me to push my limits.
So, I chose Grinnell!
Major and Classes
Pushing My Limits, First Year
When I first arrived at Grinnell, I would never have expected how passionate I’d get about writing. I think the biggest takeaway or surprise from my first year was how much I improved my writing skills in a single year.
In the best way possible, my professors pushed my limits and taught me so much. I would never have called myself a writer, but I soaked in as much as I could.
My Passion for Philosophy
Through my classes at Grinnell, I was able to engage in challenging but always rewarding self-inquiry in my classes. During my four years, I honed my understanding of both the internal and external world to gain a much more accurate worldview, one that has certainly stretched my limits.
As someone who can get bored easily, I found a passion for writing and logical analysis. When taking philosophy classes, I became passionate about many writers. As I learned about the works of Friedrich Nietzsche and Baruch Spinoza, I translated my experience into my studies, work, and everyday life. Not only that, but I became a much more effective communicator, presenting complex ideas in any setting.
Stretching My Two Passions Further — Research
Toward the end of my time at Grinnell College, I had the wonderful opportunity to engage in two massive independent research projects, one philosophical and one economical.
In my philosophy research, also called a Mentored Advanced Project (MAP) here, my wonderful major adviser and mentor Joe Neisser initially challenged me by tasking me to create a framework or paper that synthesized logic and reasoning in its purest form — so a superficial paper talking about an application of the idea was not going to be enough.
The final research paper contained almost 50 pages of work and was titled "Relational Authenticity: Neo-Existentialism and Spinoza Ontology". It was a wonderful experience that allowed me to translate the skills that I have developed over the course of my four years here into a single essay.
My second MAP was an economics research project on the subject of behavioral economics, studying the effects of ambiguity aversion on investment behavior.
I had a very large participant pool (mainly other Grinnell College students), which made the economics MAP a great success. Professor Logan Lee was an incredible mentor during this process and allowed me to engage with the field of economics even more.
Both of these projects resulted in an increase in passion for writing, research, analysis, and presentation that I am sure to use no matter where I go in the future.
Finding Community
Being at a Small College
Coming to Grinnell, the environment was very different than what I was used to. Early on, my primary tasks were to get a feel for the environment and get adjusted to my new community.
I definitely think being in a small community helped me get out of my shell more. I used to be a very shy person, but over time, I became much more extroverted and made many friends. With Grinnell being a small school in a small town, there was plenty to explore!
I swam competitively for ten years, and most of my extracurricular time was taken up with practice. I swam during my first, second, and third years at Grinnell!
Me and My Friends
Here are just a few more photos of me with my friends.
Internship and Experiences
I came to Grinnell wanting to pursue a career in law, but I was also open-minded about career experiences outside of the legal field. This was thanks to the flexibility of Grinnell’s curriculum; I knew that a lot of the topics I learned in one subject translated to topics in other subjects, and that this would be the same at work with my transferable skills.
I've had a lot of different jobs in the past, from a car dealership and a Wells Fargo internship to being a barista at Grinnell’s own local Saints Rest Coffee House. All of those places have shaped me to be the person I am today.
Professionally, I plan to work for a couple of years before setting my eyes on law school. There are still some questions that exist in between, but I’m confident that my time at Grinnell has prepped me well for this.
