| Major: |
International Politics and Economics |
| Hometown: |
San Francisco, California |
| Favorites: |
Skiing at the Snow Bowl |
| One thing I am: |
Singer in an all-male a cappella group |
In many ways, Middlebury is a place of comfort. Most students can easily continue their high school hobbies while maintaining that work ethic that got them into Middlebury. I surely was one of those students who felt at ease within days of arriving.
But then came a day when I realized everything was too comfortable. I yearned to push myself outside what I was used to. So, I took a risk and acted upon a nomination, sent to me anonymously, to live in the intercultural academic-interest house.
Coming from San Francisco, I almost take intercultural interaction for granted. I expect to get on a bus and see every kind of person speaking every kind of language, holding take-out boxes of every kind of regional cuisine. But at Middlebury, that kind of cultural integration takes work. Living in a multicultural facility was something new and different, and it challenged me.
I now know who nominated me, and it’s indicative of the staff and faculty’s dedication that, after a mere semester, they would have gotten to know me well enough to set me off on such a challenge.