I’ve enjoyed having my close friends within a half mile radius all the time, and I know I will miss that after I graduate. During my last year of Grinnell, I’m trying to savor each moment as much as possible.

In terms of my career, currently, I’ve received the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, which is a $40,000 fellowship that allows me to study how music can inspire people to connect with the earth, their community, and their culture around the world! 

I'm sincerely grateful for everything Grinnell has provided me. If there's anything I’ve learned anything during my time at Grinnell, it’s to be open about how my interests can combine in unique ways. Grinnell has prepared me to pave a future that intertwines my love for music, stories, nature, and people.

After graduation, I headed straight to New York City for as a new research associate at NERA. NERA is a big economic consulting company, and I was a part of their anti-trust practice division. My classes at Grinnell definitely prepared me well, especially heavily in the statistics and the economic theory parts of my education, which I’ll take with me to NERA.

Now, I am a PhD candidate at the Rutgers School of Public Health. I look at health behavior, society, and policy.

I want to thank my advisers for all the guidance they’ve offered. I always knew that economic consulting was a path that was available to me, but my advisers were the ones who really helped me realize it. My data and research experiences at Grinnell have prepared me well for this position, and my major adviser and career adviser have been with me every step of the way by helping me gain the necessary skills, identifying opportunities and companies that would be a great fit for me, and assisting me with the application process.

I am a J.D. candidate at the University of Iowa College of Law. I went into law like I came to Grinnell: super undecided, but excited for what's to come! As long as I am working with people, I will be very happy.

I hope to travel more. Although I love the state of Iowa, going abroad has shown me there’s so much more out there.

It was very cool to have such a close-knit community at Grinnell. As a director and community member, I was able to bring out the best talents and passions in the people around me, and I want to continue hanging out with amazing people and create with them.

The summer after my graduation, I came back to the Footliters Traveling Playhouse, located in Coralville and throughout Iowa, for a full-time position. I had my biggest batch of kiddos to date and taught a curriculum designed to engage students with musical theatre. I directed a short production for kids ages 7–12 and introduced them to the process of putting a play together!

Now, I am pursuing my master’s degree in theatre education at the University of Minnesota’s College of Education and Human Development.

In my last year at Grinnell, I did a practicum at a law firm in Des Moines, hosting events as a class ambassador, and planning graduation events on the Commencement Committee. During my spring break, I had the opportunity to do course-embedded travel in Spain with my Spanish seminar class. 

After graduation, I worked as a legal assistant, preparing and filing a variety of non-immigrant visa petitions such as H-1B, L-1A/B,E-2/3, TN-1/2, R-1, and O-1 visas for foreign nationals and their dependents.

I am now an international employment and immigration specialist with the International Faculty and Staff Services (IFSS) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison!

If you enjoyed this story and want to engage further with the Office of Admission, you can request information, explore the Admission events and opportunities, or connect with the Admission interns directly.

Right now, I'm earning my J.D. at the University of Iowa. I have two more years left. I'm sad to be away from the tight-knit Grinnell community, but I am excited for what the future holds.

During my time in law school, I've interned at LADA's Organized Crime Division and Hate Crime Unit. I serve as law clerk there, working with victims of hate crimes and members of marginalized communities in Los Angeles County to achieve restorative justice. In this position, I also prepare legal documents, communicate with legal counsel, handle correspondence, and engage in research and legal analysis on hate crimes and other organized criminal conduct.