Andrea’s Journey

Why Grinnell?

I’m from San Pedro Sula, the second-biggest city in Honduras. I went to a very small school where I got to know my teachers and all my classmates well. I knew all the faces in my high school. Therefore, I was interested in attending a small college with a similar environment.

Grinnell found me — genuinely. They emailed me, asking me to apply. That’s how I found out about Grinnell. It was a small school, so it ticked my checkbox. It also seemed to offer so much financial help in terms of free applications and good financial packages.

I also got my first ever snail mail from Grinnell, which is crazy. Honduras doesn’t have a good mail system, but Grinnell somehow figured it out. No other college did that. That was exciting to me, and it made me feel so special. I felt like an individual and not just another number to them.

I did a virtual tour and I liked that. I also learned through the website that the international community here is pretty strong. That attracted me to Grinnell as well. I ended up choosing Grinnell because I felt so welcome.

Coming to Iowa

Leaving home was a bit scary.

What made it harder was that it was during Covid. Fall semester of my first year, I was in Honduras, taking classes online. Thankfully, Grinnell let us come to campus for the spring semester. It was my first time traveling alone by air — I was scared of TSA! It was my first experience with winter, too, and my first time seeing snow. I had no winter clothes!

Grinnell put me in a residence hall with a bunch of other international students. We all had our own rooms, but we still had a little community. We also had an IPOP mentor — a fourth year who lived in the same hall with us. He would organize get-togethers and he encouraged us to eat lunch and dinner together. Even though I didn’t meet many people that year, I had this friend group, and they’re still my friends now.

Because of the pandemic and being at home during my first semester, I spent a lot of time feeling FOMO for the first-year experiences that I had missed out on. But now that I’m a senior, I feel like I didn’t miss out on anything. I just had a completely different experience.

I think it was unique and I value that a lot.

Classes and Choosing My Major

I’ve wanted to do psychology since I watched a documentary about the brain with my dad when I was in the seventh grade. I wanted to study the brain, and I came here with that in mind. I was open to the possibility of changing my major and I explored a lot of different courses, but psychology and neuroscience are still what I love.

Outside of my major, I’ve liked my English courses and an intro to video production class where we got to make a lot of movies. That was super fun. Even though I didn’t like history in high school, I thought I’d try it out here. I actually loved it! I took two more history classes. I also took a GWSS (Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies) class. That was an eye-opener for me, and I loved it too.

My academic advisers have been very helpful. My adviser has known me from the beginning. I met her first year, first semester, and she’s always guided me. She is amazing, and I am very grateful to her.

What I Love To Do

Here, I’ve been highly involved with the international community. I have volunteered at International Student Organization’s [ISO] events like Food Bazaar and Cultural Evening. I’m also a cabinet member for the Latin American Student Organization this year.

And this past year I was an International Pre-Orientation Program [IPOP] mentor where I got to introduce eight awesome new international students to Grinnell — that was lovely.

I’ve also done several presentations about Honduras at the Grinnell middle school and here at the College, sharing tidbits of where I am from with my community here. That is meaningful to me.

Besides that, I am part of the Psychology SEPC (Student Educational Policy Committee) where I help plan department events and seminars, act as a liaison between professors and students, and provide student input when the department is hiring new professors! It is time consuming but I love seeing behind the scenes of the department and contributing to it.

I also love birdwatching. Sometimes I walk around in the mornings, looking at birds and trying to take pictures. There are a lot of pretty birds here, but I think the most special bird I remember seeing for the first time was a northern cardinal. I’d never seen one before and when I saw it, I was so happy.

My Internship

I’ve been doing an internship with a psychiatric research institute in New York for a year and a half now. It’s been completely remote, except this past summer, when I had the opportunity to go in person.

I work with a neuropsychologist, helping in whatever remote capacity I can with their research projects. My mentor there is focused on helping me explore neuropsychology.

It was amazing to go to New York to work in person. I had other international friends from Grinnell who were doing internships there. We were all in awe of New York City. We lived on the Brooklyn side of New York City. Our view toward Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty was spectacular at night, every night. We got to explore the city together. We experienced many cuisines and had boba tea down the street!

Both my summer internships were funded by the CLS [Careers, Life, and Service], which was nice. CLS has been helpful in so many incredible ways during my time at Grinnell.

Study Abroad

In the fall of my third year, I went to Copenhagen, Denmark. I did the DIS (Danish Institute for Study) in Copenhagen program, which is a popular choice. Over a thousand students from all over the U.S. go each semester. It was probably one of the best experiences I have had in my life.

It opened my eyes to so many new things about the world and about me (I learned that I love to travel to nature places over cities, for example). It was my first time visiting someplace outside Northern and Central America, and that was fantastic.

It was eye-opening to be in Denmark because their social and political system there is different than what I’ve experienced before. They also study psychology a little differently compared to the U.S., so I loved gaining a different perspective. Additionally, Denmark is very distinct culturally, and I loved learning about it from Danish people.

I also did a lot of traveling. I went to northern Norway and Iceland and saw the northern lights in both places. That had always been my dream. Then I came back to Iowa last semester, and the northern lights were visible from Grinnell as well!!

Friends and Fun

My first year, I lived in Cowles residence hall, and most of my friends that year were also in Cowles. We were all international students, and so we were excited about snow. We built snowmen, went sledding, and had snowball fights. So fun!

Second year was my first full year on campus. I got to venture outside of Grinnell. I went to Iowa City for apple picking. My family came to visit Grinnell. I also attended my first Harris party (a Grinnell must).

My friends threw me a birthday surprise, which was nice. I also did a lot of the international student events for the first time — Food Bazaar and Diwali, for instance.

Third year, I went abroad to Denmark. One of my best friends was there with me, and my boyfriend was doing a program in Budapest at the same time. We all did a bunch of traveling together when we could. When I came back in the spring semester, I lived off campus with friends. That was lovely — to live with my friends all in the same space, cooking together, doing things together.

We’re all seniors now, trying to make memories and enjoy our last year here at Grinnell. We’ve gone camping together at Diamond Lake near Montezuma [a small town near Grinnell]. It was super fun. And we went to Puerto Rico for fall break. One of my roommates has a dog, and it’s fantastic to have a pet to unwind with.

Looking ahead

I am at that point in life where I see many different directions in front of me, and the path is not so clear cut for me. I think I want to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical neuropsychology, to eventually build a career in a clinical setting, helping diagnose and rehabilitate people having issues with cognition. 

Before I dive into a Ph.D., though, I've found a job to work with a clinical population. I’m interested in working with patients with dementia and/or working with traumatic brain injuries or stroke survivors.