Grinnell College was the last college that I visited. Late in the evening, after two flights and an extensive layover, I was welcomed by a bunch of excited current students in the Joe Rosenfield ’25 Center. My host, a first-year student from London, enthusiastically welcomed me to campus.
After seeing how genuinely kind and worldly the Grinnell community was, I was ready to make the jump from Los Angeles County to a supportive, small town community. At Grinnell College, I knew I could find a positive, encouraging, curious, and courageous community of people from around the world.
Summer Abroad in Western Russia
My first year at Grinnell, I became involved with Disability Resources, Multicultural affinity groups, and student organizations on campus. I became a Peer Connections Pre-Orientation Program (PCPOP) mentor my second year. PCPOP invites incoming first-year students of diverse identities and historically marginalized backgrounds to arrive on campus before New Student Orientation to gain a sense of community and connect with other students who can serve as resources throughout their first year. I hoped that, as a mentor, I could warmly welcome incoming students to campus and the community, just as my mentors did for me.
Mentor training enhanced my personal growth and ability to advocate for other students in the Grinnell College community. Training included discussions on conflict mediation, setting healthy boundaries, effective communication, and other valuable skills. The program was as impactful for mentors as it was for first-year participants in fostering a supportive community of people who uplift, inspire, and celebrate one another. Learning from others through meaningful interactions shaped my definition of leadership.
Course-Embedded Travel to Chicago
The fall of my second year, I took Opera, Politics, and Society in Early Modern Europe, a history course with embedded travel to Chicago over fall break. The course brought students together from all departments, and the subject matter invited insights from many departments as well, with English, music, and French faculty lectures.
During our trip to Chicago, my peers and I attended two shows at the Chicago Opera House, toured behind the scenes, and received an impromptu voice lesson from the cast of Luisa Miller. While I did not get "discovered" and become a professional opera singer, my peers and I grew closer through the shared experiences of on-campus and off-campus learning. Even though some students have since graduated, I still keeps in touch with everyone through our “wiggly operas giggly” groupchat, in which we reflect on the memories we made exploring Chicago together.
Latin American Jazz Ensemble
In the beginning of my second year, I took advantage of the free music lessons and enrolled in one-on-one jazz voice courses with Professor Gabriel Espinosa. After my first lesson, Professor Espinosa invited me to sing in the Latin American Jazz Ensemble. I was thrilled to participate! After the first rehearsal as an ensemble, I was amazed by my peers’ talents, the autonomy we had to decide which pieces to perform and how many solos each person would have, and how supportive the instructor was in meeting each person’s educational and musical goals. Each rehearsal feels like a jam session with lots of laughter, conversation, and appreciation for one another. In the fall of my fourth year, we took a trip to see Professor Espinosa perform with Alison Wedding at Noce Jazz Club in Des Moines, a trip funded by the music department!
