Meredith’s Journey

Why Grinnell?

I fell in love with Grinnell! I was drawn to the individualized curriculum and its location. I decided on it based mostly on my gut feeling about how I would fit into this community — I could just sense a certain authenticity, which I did end up finding.

Talking with current students and getting a vibe for the student body gave me a gut trust in this place. One of my soccer teammates ended up going to Grinnell. I remember her saying something about students singing to and from the library, and I was like, “I want to be at a school where no one bats an eye if people are singing out loud.”

Because of the pandemic, I did all but two months of my first year online. I was here from January to March along with the rest of the first-year class. It was definitely a unique start to the college experience, but I think it actually bonds my class at this point.

A Passion for Ultimate Frisbee

I’m captain of the Ultimate Frisbee team — it’s a huge deal and a very passionate community. I had never really played Ultimate before coming to Grinnell. I saw a group on Mac Field practicing when I was here and just asked if I could join.

I really fell in love with the people and looked up to them. They ended up being very formative role models for me. They made me feel really invested, and the more invested I got, the more committed to enjoying the sport I became. That evolved into me running for captain and wanting to provide what those captains provided for me for the rest of the team.

It’s very welcoming. It’s a fun sport. You just chase a Frisbee around, right?

Choosing My Major

My First-Year Tutorial was unexpectedly positive. It was called Pedagogy in the Time of Pandemic with Deborah Michaels in the education department, whom I love. It very much was my first community at Grinnell despite being online. I met my first friends at Grinnell through tutorial, and Professor Michaels helped me through my entire transition to Grinnell. She continues to be an important mentor in my life today.

I struggled to pick a major. I took every intro to social science course you can take! But the political science major is the right one for me because I can enjoy all the diverse courses I want to and complete the major. It’s going to apply to whatever I do, because you need to know how institutions work. You need to know how power functions; you need to know how to understand different governments. You need to know how societies govern themselves.

My Internship

I interned at the Denver City Council this past summer because I thought, “Oh, maybe I’ll be a city councilor someday.” I don’t know that I could really see myself doing that now, for various reasons. But the big one was that I want to work more directly with people. I enjoyed the policy side of it, but I want to work more on the people side of policy.

Study Abroad in Athens

I went to Athens, Greece. I was so excited and learned so much. One really exciting thing was my Greek Mythology and Religion course. We read Greek myths and linked them to Athens and its modernity. It was incredibly well taught.

My favorite aspect of Myth and Religion was our field studies — our classroom was at the archaeological site. That just never stopped blowing my mind. The one that sticks out to me the most was the first temple I visited, which was at Delphi — Apollo’s Temple. It’s one of the most famous temples in Greek mythology. To look up, see the birds, understand what was going on, and feel the magnitude of time in that way — that was one of the most unique feelings I’ve ever experienced. I’ve never learned that way before.

Research

I did a research project with one of my political science professors in Greece. I wrote about Greek citizenship law and how it’s evolved. It was a wonderfully guided case study to better understand Greece, politically speaking, and an issue I was passionate about.

Grinnell gave me enough confidence to sign up for it, and it was a really great way to engage with my study abroad experience and be academically involved — but also personally involved.

Fun, Friends, and Footwork

I have a lot of happy memories — it’s all about the little things. Quiet nights hanging out with a couple of people in their house or in their dorm, playing games or listening to music or having little dance parties, or just talking. I also love the multiple hour-long dining hall conversations where no one wants to move on.

My second year, one of my favorite things was Swing Dancing Club. It was super fun. I learned to swing dance and I really met a lot of cool people. Thursday nights at 7:30 ended up being pretty sacred space because no matter what was going on, I would just go and dance for an hour. That felt so good for my spirits!

A lot of my fun memories are Frisbee related. That’s kind of my happy memory bank. For example, I was just at Northfield, Minnesota, for our tournament with St. Olaf. I am now captaining the team and watching the first-years navigate their first travel tournament. I was in their shoes not that long ago, asking the people whom I hold so dearly those exact same questions. It was a beautiful full-circle moment. It was also so much fun — when they did something well on the field, they would look at me to see that I was cheering for them. That was just so sweet.

Frisbee tournaments are just a blast. I was smiling all weekend.

Senior Year Support

Grinnell helped me figure out what I’m capable of and gave me confidence in those capabilities since the day I arrived on campus. In my senior year, I had a meeting with CLS [Careers, Life, and Service] literally once a week because they’re really encouraging and they help me turn my lofty dreams into action steps.

Every single one of my professors continued to be a great resource as well. I can pretty much ask them anything. That’s just the benefit of having a small, but also a very intentional school community that extends to professors, alumni, and fellow students, all trying to help each other succeed.