Samantha Lopez is resting against the pile of pillows on her bed, legs stretched out in front of her on her rainbow-striped bedspread. There are only a few weeks left
until graduation and although she has made a place for herself at McDaniel, it’s clear that she’s ready to move on to something new. When she leaves, the posters and
drawings taped to the wall behind her desk and bed will be taken down, leaving the white paint bare. Among the decorations is a drawn representation of her vagina
from the Vagina Monologues, which she has participated in for the past two years, Gloria Steinem’s famous “A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle”
poster, and a handmade Valentine’s Day card from a friend. The logo on the WMCR McDaniel Radio t-shirt she’s wearing has faded almost completely on one side, a
result of much use. After four years on campus, as a student and a leader, Samantha Lopez has left an impression on McDaniel and McDaniel has left an impression on her.
What are you doing after college?
Working? Maybe. Finding myself. Pursuing my artistic ventures. Creating a name for myself as an awesome person. Leaving Maryland, hopefully. Becoming a real live
person. I’m not going to grad school, not now.
Are you satisfied with your time here at McDaniel?
It’s not like I rolled over and said, “Yes, I am satisfied!” and it was over. It was more like I climaxed and I had to keep going at it. But now that McDaniel is finally finished with me I guess I’m done.
What is your favorite McDaniel memory?
After I finished my senior seminar I had an ultimate bonding moment with Dr. Dobson. She said all these nice things about my presentation and we high fived and
hugged and it was awesome. There’s nothing like having my role model affirm me.
You’ve been very active with ODMA. What have you learned from working
with ODMA clubs?
My work with Women’s Issues Group (WIG) and Allies? I knew I was going to do stuff with WIG eventually. I was really feminist in high school. I don’t think I had
anticipated getting as involved with Allies as I did, but working with both groups was beneficial for my college experience. I gained communication and leadership
skills in non-profit oriented work, which I’m now interested in and wouldn’t have been were it not for these clubs.
How has it been being a leader of WMCR Radio?
Joining the radio was very much an accident. My roommate said let’s do a show and I said okay. I was put off at first, WMCR was a boys’ club. But I had a lot of fun with
our show. The next year they asked me to manage the station and the year after that I become president. It was a great way to experiment with differents forms of
communication. I already had experience with writing as an English major but I hadn’t branched out into this sort of media before.
Do you have a message to impart to first year students?
Get more involved. There are maybe ten of us that actually do stuff on campus and we run all the clubs. It would be nice if there were more people doing stuff. In the
radio we get a lot of interest from first year students but then they lose interest and drop put. I realize there’s a lot to do once the semester starts. Plan for time to do your homework so you can try all that the campus offers. If not, you might regret not having tried.
Final words?
I had a good time at McDaniel but I’m glad to go because it’s not the same as it was and I’m probably not the same person who was having a good time. I rolled over and was like, “Phew, now it’s time to leave.”
