What’s the most important thing you learned at Lafayette?
The most important thing I learned at Lafayette was that I didn’t want to go to law school. I thought I had my whole life planned out when I came to Lafayette, and I originally started taking English classes just for fun before I realized I had time to double major. My life completely changed sophomore year when one of those English courses sent me to Special Collections in the library, which still feels like a magical place, and I realized I wanted to spend the rest of my life somewhere like that. That experience opened doors for me that I didn’t even know existed before coming to Lafayette.
What one lesson or memory from Lafayette will remain with you for the rest of your life?
One of my clearest memories from my time at Lafayette is sitting on the Quad in front of Pardee during Prof. Christopher Phillips’ Literature of the Sea class the day President Nicole Hurd came to visit our class. Prof. Phillips asked for volunteers without telling us what we would be doing, and once President Hurd volunteered herself, I did too. Little did I know that my classmates and I would soon find ourselves in a tug-of-war match in which we used the power of sea shanties in order to bring the world of Moby Dick to life and literally knocked the president off her feet.
What advice would you give to high school students who are considering Lafayette?
My advice to high school students considering Lafayette would be to look beyond the walls of the classroom, the boundaries of the sports field, or anything else you can see on a tour. The most impactful moments in my time at Lafayette all came in the moments that are more hidden at Lafayette—having epiphanies both about my scholarship and my life over a cup of tea during office hours, being stopped in my tracks by an empty folder during a research project in Special Collections, and hearing something wonderful resonate in the walls of a practice room are just a few that come to mind.
What made Lafayette most special to me were all of the moments in which mentorship, intellectual challenges, and passion for one’s work came to life, often when I least expected it, because of the people who surrounded and inspired me at Lafayette.
