Growing up in New York City, I never imagined attending college in rural Vermont. My high school had more students than Middlebury College! But part of my decision in coming here was to step out of my comfort zone in every way possible, and that's exactly what happened during my four years at Middlebury. I received a scholarship from the Posse Foundation for my role as a youth leader, and was trained for eight months before arriving to pursue my academics and to help promote cross-cultural communication on campus.

I was a Chinese, Film & Media Culture, Environmental Studies, and, eventually, a Women's and Gender Studies major. Studying such vastly different subjects was a great way to meet all kinds of students and professors, and activate diverse parts of my brain. Luckily, there's a lot of flexibility at Middlebury in what kinds of classes you can take and how you individually shape your academic and extracurricular paths.

Among the things I treasure most about Middlebury are the personal relationships created with professors, and how invested they are in your growth. Working with film professor Deb Ellis has been one of my most rewarding experiences at Middlebury. Despite being an established, extremely successful filmmaker, she has the time and genuine energy to sit down and explain the use of [the software program] Final Cut Pro to every student filmmaker who crosses her path.

I have also been part of a lot of student activism on campus, and so have juggled huge amounts of school work with involvement outside the classroom. It's only when I go home for a vacation and find myself bored that I realize just how stimulating a seemingly rural and "quiet" place like Middlebury can be.