What is your major and minor? What other academic programs were you a part of?
English major, ASL and Writing minors
What are some of the jobs you held while at McDaniel?
Ambassador, Writing Center tutor, Communications Office intern and assistant, Honor and Conduct Board student member, research assistant
What organizations were you a part of at McDaniel? What positions did you hold?
Contrast Literary Magazine president
Have you enjoyed your time at McDaniel? If so, what did you enjoy the most?
Yes! I love how the student body cares about each other; it’s rare in my experience for McDaniel students to be exclusionary. I have made deep and lasting friendships here.
Who do you think was/is your best mentor?
Dr. Dobson has shaped my career plans out of mismatched and unfocused interests. I am excited to take her advice post-graduation.
Describe your favorite memory at McDaniel.
My Senior Homecoming, surrounded by so many friends from so many different disciplines and walks of life, feeling safe to be myself.
What are some of the challenges you encountered and how did you overcome them?
I received multiple diagnoses requiring surgery during my freshman and sophomore years. This added more considerations to an already large adjustment to college outside my home state, but I could depend on friends, campus staff and faculty, and the local community to help me manage appointments and recovery.
What are your plans for after graduation?
I want to work in higher education administration for some years before applying to law school.
What advice would you give yourself as a first-year student at McDaniel?
Take yourself less seriously, the stakes are often not as high as they feel. Do no harm but take no bull. Be kinder to yourself.
Where do you see the world in 10 years?
Climate change will have caught up with us, and hopefully we will have collectively acted in time to mitigate it in the present day’s rapidly closing window. On that front, I’m not optimistic. I am optimistic about human resilience and I trust that regardless, we will adapt.
How do you reflect on your senior year during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic?
Widespread disasters and crises bring out the extremes of humanity: I’m both touched by our capacity for selfless empathy and frightened by our selfish shortsightedness. Alongside the mass loss of life, health, and opportunities experienced to varying degrees across every demographic, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the strength of relationships and community can last over indefinite change, distance, and isolation.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with the McDaniel community?
After we graduate, can someone please let us in on the locations of the other secret dragons? Do they exist? Have we been duped? Please advise.
