Why Grinnell?

I attended a medium-sized rural public high school, and I got a lot of experience working with people from diverse backgrounds, which set me up for the opportunity to explore classes in college.

I didn’t realize I’d be interested in the things I am today. There’s more to education than just science, math, and English! I am now taking religious studies and Chinese classes, which I had no comparable equivalent to in high school. I’m grateful to have been able to explore these new fields as a college student.

First-Year Explorations

When I got to campus, I initially had all my college plans lined up: I was going to graduate in three years, I knew exactly which courses I would take, and I had decided which clubs I would participate in.

But it turned out the things I had planned for myself weren’t actually enjoyable for me.

I’m glad that I didn't continue down the path I had planned for myself. College is ideally about enjoying the things you do, and I am glad to have switched up my plans.

Academics

Unexpected Passions

I took my first art class during the pandemic my first year. Making art and being creative were really cathartic for me. It steered me in the direction of art, something I never anticipated wanting to study.

I even got to present my own art at Grinnell’s Smith Gallery, where Grinnellians can display their art on campus. Many of my friends and classmates came to visit.

My Support System

Throughout my time at Grinnell, I’ve had three advisers. I still feel connected to all three!

I have my tutorial adviser, who taught my First-Year-Tutorial class; I’m still close with him. He still stops by to chat with me, and he helped me out with my Mentored Advanced Project (MAP) in 2022. He is very invested in my future.

I also have my studio art adviser, who I’ve now taken three classes with. The possibility of his becoming my adviser arose naturally when we had early conversations about the studio art major. The ask was casual: “Hey, would you be my adviser?”

For my East Asian studies concentration, I am advised by the department head, who is great. I wanted to have her as my adviser because of my interest in doing a research project with her. I wanted to do a project on Architecture in Taiwan, and she teaches art history and is from Taiwan. She was incredibly helpful in answering any questions I have.

Community

During my first year at Grinnell, I did a lot of exploring. There was a lot of trial and error — many wins and disappointments. But ultimately, I found my group and organizations I genuinely loved being involved in.

One of the organizations I joined was Swing Society. This was a great way to de-stress and be physically active.

A Voice to be Heard

I also missed the student government side of school and wanted to be a part of these decisions again when I returned as a second-year student. I became a senator in the Student Government Association (SGA) and then switched over to the Student Educational Policy Committee (SEPC).

SEPCs serve as the student voice for decisions made within each major and/or concentration. They often help out with faculty hiring and reviews, looking at the curriculum, bonding events, and more. It’s a fulfilling role for me because of the great people I get to work with.

I’m really glad I explored so much during my first year. I never felt tied down to any particular club, and the people in organizations were all encouraging as I tried out new things.

Food and Community

Starting at Grinnell

The Global Kitchen Community

I started working at the Global Kitchen during my second year. The Global Kitchen is a space where students and faculty can cook food for classes and for leisure. Lots of students — especially international ones — use the space in their free time, and my Chinese class made dumplings there once.

The Global Kitchen also uses food as a means for engaging globally with others and for looking at inequalities and injustice. The social aspect of the Global Kitchen really helped me establish a better community for myself since I was working with people constantly.

Under Their Wing

When I first started, I had no cooking experience; I had to be taught how to chop an onion and how to cook vegetables. My two bosses in the Global Kitchen really took me under their wing, teaching me everything from the basics.

Now, I am able to cook all kinds of foods. The Global Kitchen makes community meals for large numbers of people in the community; at a community meal we did, we hosted an event with over 150+ people.

Addressing Injustices

Although Grinnell doesn’t have an urban planning department, the subject is something I want to pursue further now. Learning how the community gardens where we get our produce taught me a lot about issues related to urban planning, such as food systems, sustainable and developmental consciousness, urban beauty, and making cities better places to live. I’ve learned so much from my interactions with local farmers and gardeners. Overall, I’m glad I got to learn about these issues from the community and my bosses at the Global Kitchen.

Because I work in the kitchen, I’m surrounded by food. I have enjoyed talking about the cultural significance of food, and I have discovered a deep gratitude for the amount and types of food we can get at Grinnell. The things that I got to eat as a child compared to the things I get to eat now at the Global Kitchen are so different.

Mentored Advanced Project (MAP)

I also pursued a research project over the summer at the Global Kitchen. After a conversation with Professor Todd Armstrong, I pursued a Mentored Advanced Project (MAP) after my second year.

The title of my MAP was “Food, Culture, and Experiential Learning in the Liberal Arts.” I looked at how cultural exchanges can be shared through food. An Innovation Fund Grant funded the research and helped us define how we might use the new Global Kitchen space in the future. I created a manual about my proposed curriculum for summer learning in the kitchen.

At one meal I hosted on campus one summer, I hosted an event with 50+ people as part of my MAP!

For the project, I met with Professor Armstrong every week. I also volunteered for community meals using ingredients from the Grinnell College Garden. When there was extra produce, I donated it to a local food pantry. Usually, the Global Kitchen doesn't source ingredients from community gardens. But this time was an exception.

It’s so important to get outdoors and interact with people beyond the College campus. By interacting with the community, I was able to help address local food and nutrition insecurity — two things that are very important to me — and get my hands muddy for a cause I care about.

Off-Campus Study

For an off-campus study experience, I interned at an after-school art program for high school students in a predominantly Puerto Rican neighborhood in Philadelphia. Since the neighborhood had a community garden and I wanted to practice my Spanish, this was a perfect opportunity to be involved with both areas of interest.

Here are some pictures from my time in Philadelphia, including a community garden and my after-school art program internship.

This was the first independent living experience I had beyond Grinnell. I had my own apartment, handled my own transportation within the city, and learned to value that independence.

At one point, however, I realized just how much I had normalized my support network of friends and professors back at Grinnell. I got sick when I was on my own, and that made me miss the home that I had made for myself at Grinnell.