Q: How did you choose Vassar?
A: Actually I was dead set on another college. My guidance counselor suggested that I take a trip out here the summer before my senior year, so I spent about a week, visited a school a day. I hadn’t really researched Vassar, but I was going to be in the area so it ended up on the list. I set up a meeting with Coach Penn, took the campus tour, and really, really liked it. It was just such a good feeling, the minute I drove in through Main Gate.
Q: Did your parents come with you?
A: No, I came by myself.
Q: So volleyball is your main sport?
A: I played in high school, all four years, plus club during the winter. Obviously, I wanted a college with a good academic reputation, but volleyball was also a huge factor. We have a great program here. Over the past seven years, we’ve won our conference six times and gone on to the NCAA championship five times. Coach Penn’s enthusiasm and his absolutely love for the game played a huge part in my decision to come here.
Q: And squash and rowing — did you play those sports in high school?
A: No, I took those up my first year here. In high school, I played basketball and soccer and a number of other things. Actually one of my favorite sports in high school was the badminton club. We had a bunch of old Olympic players who came twice a week at night and helped us learn how to play — for real, not like sloppy backyard badminton. It’s actually more like a version of tennis.
Q: How would you describe the athletic-academic balance at Vassar?
A: Our coaches realize that there’s a lot of academic pressure on us, and if we have a commitment to some class, or if we have to go to a film screening, for example, or a lecture, they’re respectful of that. And at the same time, I think we get to enjoy it more. We get to focus on team bonding, and going to games, and just playing for Vassar. It’s such a good school, and we have such a good time.
Q: You do a lot of stuff — you’re the vice president of your class, you’re a double major, you play three sports. How do you manage it all?
A: I think that playing sports makes me a better person and a better student. It’s not like D-I schools where your life revolves around sports 24-7, but the athletes I know here have a determination to succeed that carries over into everything they do — sports and academics.
My courses are harder this year and I’m going to have to devote a lot more time to academics. But I can’t imagine not doing the other things. My sense of accomplishment in athletics carries over into other aspects of my life. If sports are going well, then academics are bound to be going well. Also, you make really good friends from sports. Some of my best friends here are my teammates. So it’s a social outlet, and a release from stress.
Q: What’s your favorite class so far?
A: British History with Professor Murdoch. We learned about the agriculture and the economy and the politics and even the social customs of 18th-century Britain. Professor Murdoch did a great job. She’s just so interesting — she could talk about anything and we’d pay attention. One thing I really like about the History Department at Vassar is its focus on primary sources. You don’t have a textbook, like you do in high school. You study primary documents — letters, diaries, legal documents — that were written by people in the time period you’re studying.
Q: How did that class affect your understanding of American political structure?
A: America is somewhat unique in that we have only two major parties. Other countries, like Britain, and other countries in Europe and Latin America, have coalition governments, where a wide range of interest groups are represented in their main legislative bodies. I think the fact that we are so split — Democrat or Republican — really hinders any sort of progress that could be made because people just follow the pack of their parties.
Q: So you live in Davison? What was it like coming in as a first-year student?
A: Actually, I was the first one here from my student fellow group because I had to come early for volleyball. It was great meeting my student fellowees when they finally got here. Davison has this reputation of being “the family dorm,” and it’s definitely true. We have one of the best groups of people because everyone is so warm and friendly, and we really take care of each other.
Q: What kind of student should come to Vassar?
A: If you can be really independent and take initiative and really be interested and passionate about what you’re doing, you should come to Vassar. Regardless of who you talk to on campus, I’m sure they’ll tell you something that they’re absolutely 100 percent involved with, dedicated to, and really interested in pursuing. There are not very many lackadaisical I’m-just-kind-of-floating-around type people at Vassar.
Q: What are you most passionate about?
A: Political science. Obviously, extracurriculars are very important to me, like sports and student government. But when it comes down to it, I am really really interested in political science. Professor Muppidi is incredible, and I am really looking forward to taking a class with Professor Villmoare. She’s going to be my advisor when she gets back from sabbatical. And this semester I’m taking a class with Shelley Hurt. She’s brilliant — absolutely the smartest person I’ve ever talked to.
Q: So eventually you want to go to law school?
A: I want to be a lawyer. I’ve done a little bit of work with personal injury law and family law, and a little bit of criminal. I did an internship in high school with Kooperman & Kaufman in St. Louis. One of the partners is a family friend, so basically I “shadowed” him. I got to come with him to a trial where there was a million-dollar settlement. It was really a cool experience, but I don’t really want to do personal injury law. I don’t know exactly what I want to do. I’ll have to start thinking about it when I start looking at law schools.
Q: You mentioned that you might also want to do the Peace Corps.
A: I do. I just think it would be a really good experience, especially if I can do something in policy and government. But I really would be up for doing anything. I think living in a different country and experiencing the sorts of problems they deal with on a day-to-day basis would give me a little more perspective.
Q: Any advice for prospective students?
A: I would say come for an overnight, for sure, and go out and talk to as many people as you can. And talk to professors, sit in on a class, go to a practice, go to a drama performance — it’s a very distinct feeling on campus, and the more people you talk to, the more of a sense you’re going to have of whether it’s the right place for you.
