Admission at Haverford

This song has been in my head recently. So many perfect lines: Time for you to go out into the world. Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end. You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here. It seems somehow all too fitting for the end of college. (I won’t even get into “It’s the End of the World As We Know It“, which is also true).

So it’s been quite the few weeks since I last wrote. I’m sorry for my absence, but maybe after reading, you’ll choose to forgive me. Here are some of the highlights that I can remember right now:

• -The Librarian of the College cleaned my clock in our all-school skeeball tournament. (Well, she scored a 300 and I got a 250).
• I turned in my thesis on April 20. It finished at 33,000 words and 114 pages.

The finished product!

This was the largest reason that I wasn’t capable of doing anything else. It was a huge project and I’m very proud of how it turned out, but sometimes it felt as physically exhausting as the runs I did to take a break from writing!

• During one of those frantic I-need-a-break-from-writing runs, I completed my fastest loop of campus (1.7 miles in 13:50 for a sub-8:00 mile pace).

• I attended my last college class (math, fittingly enough) and handed in my last college assignment (a political science paper, of course).

• My friends and I rang Founders’ Bell, a senior tradition.

You use a mallet, apparently--this was a surprise to me!

• And yesterday, I competed in a four-hour Philadelphia scavenger hunt, coming in third!

"Take a picture with a complete stranger outside the Convention Center"

Somehow I managed to continue with everyday life (job applications and interviews, tours and other work in admission, homework besides thesis, making it to the gym every day…) but as I look back I’m not 100% sure where the time went.

Actually, take that sentence, and multiply it by four, and that’s how I feel about my college career. This is one of my last days at school, and I’m trying to think back on four years, and it’s very hard. The best analogy I’ve got is this: If you’ve ever embarked on a weight lifting program, you’ll know that you have to start small. Maybe you’re only benching 30 pounds when you start. But sure enough, you can move to 40, then 50, then 60. But each time you bump up, you know it because you’re using larger weights and you’re sore the next day!

Somehow, through college, I’ve become someone capable of benching a lot, but it sort of snuck up on me! Each paper you write, each guest speaker you hear, each article you dissect, you become a better student, better thinker, better scholar…but you don’t notice until you step back and look at the whole picture. In more ways than I can count, I’ve gained SO much from these four years. It’s not just about academics, though that was undeniably the center of my experience. It’s about all those corny things too: self-understanding and self-awareness and personal growth and transformation and blah blah blah. (I’m not usually good at the sentimental, so this was actually a pretty good paragraph for me).

There are so many posts I wanted to write and never did. There will be so much I’ll want to say that I can’t. There was much I wanted to do but couldn’t. But, in the end, I can’t, rationally, have any regrets: I got so much out of my Haverford years and I’ll always be grateful for my time here. I don’t know how I’ll cope with leaving, but everyone seems to manage, so I’m sure I’ll figure it out.

My friends and I were talking recently about what we might like to say, given the chance, to sum up our Haverford experience. I’ve attached my thoughts at the end of this post because I feel strongly about what I said there.

I did want to close by saying that one way in which I’d like to stay connected to the Haverford community is by always being a resource for anyone considering the college. Please feel free to reach out anytime that you discover this blog (hi future readers!). You can reach me at h.solomonstrauss (at) gmail.com. I’d love to hear from you, no matter the content of your email! (I really truly mean that, more seriously than I’ll be able to convince you, so just shoot me a note and see for yourself!)

Thanks for reading this year! And thanks, Haverford, for everything.

My final thoughts:

When we graduated high school, we probably all heard the same advice. ‘College will be the most important years of your life. You’re not a kid anymore. It’s time to get serious, because this time, it’s the real world.’ Clearly, those speakers didn’t know we were headed to Haverford. So before we take the next step, maybe we should think for a moment about the world we’re leaving, the world of Haverford College.

The “real world” works very differently here. Driving on to campus, you pass a sign at the entrance that reads, “Private Property.” But then, beneath that, and in larger letters, it says, “Visitors Welcome.” When we pulled up outside the dorms on move-in day, our cars were swarmed by Customs People in brightly colored shirts, telling us how excited they were that we’d arrived, and carrying our things to our rooms. Rule Number One: no one moves themselves into Haverford. Right away, you have a family, one that never really goes away as long as you’re here.
We all have stories about unlocked bikes or laptops left unattended for hours, or the simple kindness of classmates who seek us out to return lost belongings. When people ask, “How are you?”, they care about the answer. The arboretum uses the all-campus email list to tell us how the trees are doing. Sometimes we’re late for class after an unexpectedly long lunch where we debated the DC workers about the prowess of our respective intramural basketball teams. Have you ever turned a corner, spotted a tree in full bloom, and found yourself stopping to stare? What about that first nice day in the spring, when the pinwheels appear on Founders Green, glinting in the sunlight?

Think about the time since move-in day: all those experiments you ran, all those hours in SuperLab. Think of your thesis, and of all the research you put into it. But our time here isn’t just measured by specific milestones, it’s everything put together. We juggled school, sports, committees, friends, fun, even sleep–sometimes, it wasn’t clear how everything was going to get done. But it always did, and that feeling of accomplishment was the surest sign we were growing into Haverford.

Our education here was not meant to be comfortable; it was meant to provoke, to stretch, to enrich. In class, we heard points of view we had never before considered, and so the conversation continued at the gym, on the green, and late into the night in common rooms. We owe more than we can say to the incredible professors who have challenged and inspired us. If you finish at Haverford after four years with the same ideas, same opinions, and same skills that you had during your first week, then it didn’t work, did it? But whether measured by academic enrichment, athletic achievement, or any other standard, Haverford has ‘worked’ for all of us.

And so we spent four years in not-quite-the-real-world, and it’s time for us to give the real, real world a try. But for the rest of our lives, “Haverford Class of 2012” is going to be one of the most accurate descriptors of our approaches to problems and solutions, to challenges and understanding, to learning, to community, to the world, to life. We will be taking a lot with us from this place– and, frankly, the real world out there could use a little more ‘trust, concern, respect.’ They say that “home is not where you live, but where they understand you,” and I can’t think of any group for whom that is more accurate. You get a family on day one, and no matter where you go from here, Haverford will always be home.

But because this is Haverford, I can’t end on a sentiment like that. Yes, hard work got us here, and that deserves to be recognized, but we had a lot of fun along the way. Haverford has always been about knowing how to not take ourselves too seriously. So I’d like finish by dedicating a poem to the class of 2012. It’s a poem of hope and uncertainty, of the future and the past, of confidence and self-questioning. It was written by someone whose great literary works, which reflect a keen understanding of the real world, are taught a little earlier than the freshman writing seminar. I mean Dr. Seuss, of course.

“You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed.
You’ll pass the whole gang, and you’ll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you’ll be the best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don’t.
Because sometimes you won’t.
I’m sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true that bang-ups and hang-ups will happen to you.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.
And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! 98 and three-quarters percent guaranteed.”

As we take our next step into the world, remember how real this world has been, and remember that here at Haverford, you’ll always have a home.

With the conclusion of Haverfest*, the summer months are a just a few short weeks (and a few not so short finals) away. Here’s a preview of my ensuing months, and some other ‘fords’ summer selections.

I’ll be heading back to Seattle for the first few weeks of the summer for some quiet rejuvenation; I can’t wait to see my family (after a while, regular phone calls don’t quite cut it), play with my dog, and sleep absurd amounts. The majority of my summer, however, will be spent right here on Haverford’s campus; I am so excited to be working in the Admissions office this summer! Working in Admissions has honestly been the highlight of my sophomore year (and this blog has been a part of that!), and I’m absolutely thrilled to be able to continue the Haverford conversation this summer. Come visit me and I’ll give you a tour of this special place!

A huge part of why Haverford is so special is its ability to balance its small size (our student body numbers just shy of 1200) with academic and social resources. The Tri-College Consortium (or the Tri-Co), composed of nearby Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore Colleges, provides these outlets. This summer, Haverford’s especially close relationship with Bryn Mawr College (aka the Bi-Co) has garnered me a research opportunity; I’m going to be a part-time research assistant for two phenomenal Bryn Mawr Sociology professors, David Karen and Bob Washington!

Please note that I am not a Sociology major. I took David’s Sociology of Education course this past semester, loved it, and really clicked with the curriculum and him. After class one day, David pulled me aside and casually asked me whether I would be interested in being his research assistant for the summer. Seriously, it was that informal. I had gotten to know David really well over the semester, so there didn’t have to be a huge brouhaha about the inquiry and I didn’t need to do much more than turn red and rather inarticulately accept the job offer (hey, I was flattered). For those interested, I’ll be investigating the idea of sports as an ideal model of social meritocracy. Expect further blog posts.

So that’s my summer, but I’m taking this opportunity to gush about my friends’ super cool summer jobs too. My natural-science inclined friends will be doing their own respective research at Haverford, “synthesizing a naturally occurring compound that could be used as a drug for [currently] drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis” (those are their words, not mine) in Professor Fran Blase’s research lab. For the social scientists, one will be back in Seattle investigating the intersection of Biology, Religion, and Political Science at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer research center — a gig her adviser helped her find; Despina will be researching in the University of Pennsylvania Psychology department. She too acquired this job through one of her favorite Haverford professor’s academic network. See how those close professor-student relationships come in handy? These examples really concretize the fact that every Haverford student is guaranteed research opportunities; clearly, these manifest themselves in different ways — be it directly or indirectly through Haverford or other Tri-Co professors — but the experiences are universally immense.

Finally, my friend Alec will be heading to Sierra Leone to work with a public-health focused NGO. Now, Alec found this opportunity through an acquaintance, but this is a great example of the kind of summer opportunities the Center for Peace and Global Citizenship (CPGC) can provide students. I’ll hold off on all of the CPGC’s offerings for now, but essentially, it provides students with full funding for domestic or global summer research and/or internships in the vein of social justice. It’s a seriously cool program that really distinguishes Haverford. Visit www.haverford.edu/CPGC/ for more information.

I know I’m ecstatic for my summer plans, and I can speak for my friends’ equal enthusiasm; this summer promises much exciting intellectual discovery and many fun summer nights. That’s all from the word-nerd for this academic year, but I look forward to continuing the dialogue this summer (and beyond)!

*I’m going to entrust my fellow bloggers with Haverfest’s coverage, but just in case, Haverfest is a weekend-long college-funded celebration of the end of the year. So fun.

Pinwheel day has come and gone (I hope everyone got to see the Haverford homepage on Monday for a photo! If you missed it, check back, the college should be posting photos), and with its passing, we’ve haver-officially crossed the seasonal threshold. Spring’s presence also means that I’ve recently crossed my own college threshold. I’ve declared my major. I am now an official English major with an Education minor! E², you might say. Exciting! (E³, anyone?)

In colloquial discourse, major declaration can sometimes mean annoying, existentialist things like: What’s your life calling? What is your global destiny? Who are you? I apologize for the facetiousness, but there is a genuine element of apprehension in what the implications of a major can be. It does sort of feel like you’re delineating your life plans when you’re at the ripe old age of 19, possibly 20, and that is somewhat daunting. I plan on turning my English/Education combination into a Masters in Higher Education and Teaching, and then eventually a J.D. to get into education reform through law. This sounds spiffy and polished, but it’s nowhere near set in stone. The liberal arts experience, however, provides you with a way of interdisciplinary thinking and analysis that really prepares you to work anywhere. So the existentialist fretting needn’t be.

Because Haverford so heavily emphasizes a liberal arts experience, sophomores have taken a huge variety of courses. By now, I’ve taken classes in the:
o English
o Education
o Math
o Economics
o Psychology
o German
o Astronomy
o Sociology (at Bryn Mawr)
o Geology (at Bryn Mawr)
o Peace, Justice, and Human Rights (a cool hybrid of Political Science, Philosophy, International Relations, Psychology, Anthropology and more)
departments. So, a lot. And this is really the norm.

Because we have this plethora of experiences, major declaration rolls around and it’s simultaneously exhilarating and a little scary. It is a big decision, and it does mean narrowing and focusing your studies. It means that you have to evaluate which departments are really resonant – which ones you’re in constant conversation with. It also means that you may have to forego some departments in favor of others. I relinquished my Math minor in this process. I wasn’t ready to commit to hardcore theoretical math courses, and so the minor is subsequently a disingenuous fit for my academic interests (I did hope you noticed some mathy stuff earlier in this post though; I still think the subject is totally cool). And that’s okay. Major declaration means deepening your understanding and really getting into the guts of your interest – the juiciest, most challenging, and ultimately most rewarding elements of the discipline.

To cover my logistical bases, the major declaration process is an absolute snap. In the weeks leading up to declaration time, the college departments all host academic “teas” (professors and students mingle, chat and munch on cookies) to give prospective majors some baseline information about their respective major. Are there distribution requirements for the major? Who might you be interested in working with? Why is this major the best fit for you? This is a great opportunity to pick faculty and current major brains – to challenge, reaffirm, or reinvent inclinations or preconceived notions about a major.
The advising process for majors is also really wide-sweeping and informal. I met with past English professors, current English majors, non-English majors, and my parents (via skype) to mull over the decision. Haverford is really a place that will support you multilaterally in whatever facet of college-life, and the multiplicity inherent in this advising process is just one example of that. Once I decided, I filled out a quick form online, had my advisor (whom I just emailed to inquire about advising… it’s really that informal and easy) sign the form, and that was that. All declared!

“What are you interested in majoring in?” is quite possibly the most well-worn question in the college-search discourse. There is a reasoning behind it, and some high-schoolers can really use this insight in narrowing down their college application pool. I wasn’t someone who was in that position of self-recognition, but it did help me shrink my college list nevertheless; I knew I wanted a place that would cater to my myriad interests, acknowledging both depth and breadth of study. Haverford is exactly that sort of place. Having now been officially welcomed into the English and Education departments’ folds, but still unofficially connected to the other departments I know and (mostly) love, I’m ready to dive into the depths of junior year.

For those interested, here’s a pdf of my official major declaration form: majordeclaration

Well, it wasn’t exactly the beautiful paradise day that we’ve come to expect these last few weeks, but on Open Campus Day, we enjoyed a truly incredible atmosphere on campus. It was amazing to have so many admitted students and their families on campus, and all of us in the Admission Office were incredibly excited about it.

We gathered in the morning to distribute our t-shirts and go over the schedule, and then headed out into the downpour to welcome everyone and begin our day-long tasks of answering questions, directing people around campus, and apologizing for the weather!

Everyone has different memories of past Open Campus Days: I remember mine in the Spring of 2008, a day when I learned a good deal of information about Haverford life and academic departments, but was most struck by one substantive but less expected point…the people at Haverford are fantastic! They were kind, funny, interested in getting to know me, involved in all kinds of things, and spoke so well about their experience. I was nervous about what kinds of students Haverford attracted, and getting to meet so many on one day made a huge impression on me. This environment is respectful, accepting, and actively championing of your interests and passions, which establishes a wonderful cycle. Students come to Haverford who seek this environment, further perpetuating it, which brings more students just like that, etc.

This year, I had a chance to moderate our students-only panel, which was a lot of fun for the panelists, and (I hope) a worthwhile and informative session for the students. Like the online chats we offer, it’s just a time to get direct answers from real students, often times from multiple students with different opinions. Afterwards, we joined the parents and other student volunteers in the GIAC for the closing reception, and got to catch up with families we’d seen earlier that day. I even ran into a mom of a current student, someone I met at Open Campus Day (and maybe even convinced to attend) when I was a freshman working in the Admission Office.

It wasn’t a beautiful day in terms of the weather, but I know I was nevertheless thrilled with the day overall. We had a variety of events and panels all day, and I loved getting to see students and families again and talk to them more about Haverford. I hope they all decide to come!

It’s a busy time around Haverford these days. The Admissions staff just finished in committee, the process by which the amazing applicants to Haverford are discussed and admissions decisions are made. Seniors have thesis deadlines and are scrambling to finish research and writing in time. And midterms seem to be popping up everyday.

And yet, amidst all that, spring has arrived! There has been a lot of discussion in the news about this record early spring, and everyday, walking around campus, I’m reminded of what a gorgeous spring it has been–and will be!

Haverford’s natural beauty is something that I really enjoy about campus. We’re a state-certified arboretum with 18 state champion trees (and a tree: student ratio of 4:1!). The arboretum staff do a great job keeping campus alive and vibrant and beautiful and healthy.

So, because that thesis of mine isn’t itself so healthy, let’s abide by the rule that a picture is worth 1000 words. Here are some views of campus lately.

Even Bryn Mawr is getting in on the act!

Six Degrees of Separation. I’m sure you’ve heard of this concept before… if not, feel free to click the link to learn more! Don’t become too impressed with this idea, however. Here at Haverford, I’d like to suggest that we’re more likely to have three degrees of separation with one another.

This is one of the reasons why I was so excited to downsize from a high school of 2,000 students to a college community just shy of 1,200. I love living and learning in an environment where I have the opportunity to get to know my close friends’ close friends.

Whether we cross paths at a Lunt concert, a FAB* Ben and Jerry’s Bingo competition, a Haverford basketball game, or during a birthday party screening of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, I have found that there is no limit to the settings in which I can meet new people. As a self-identified social butterfly, I’m in the right place!

In the process of this endeavor, I met a few new people and enjoyed their company as we worked together to make a human work of art. This is a testament to how delightfully surprising Haverford can be just when you think you’ve met everyone there is to know! Plus, who doesn’t love procrastinating from schoolwork by way of making new friends, having a few laughs, and building a structure somewhat resembling a pyramid?

Impromptu Human Pyramid, March 2012

Close enough?

*Fords Against Boredom

As a student at Haverford, there are a few things that stand in the way of going to the movie theater.

1) Movies are expensive! Seriously? 12 dollars for a ticket, then 5 for a small Diet Coke, then 4 for the Buncha-Crunch (and how can you pass up the Buncha-Crunch?)…this all constitues a relatively expensive evening.
2) Movies eventually come out on DVD! FAB (Fords Against Boredom) actually shows a ton of movies each semester before they come out on DVD. I saw “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” earlier this month, and just saw “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol” this weekend. The most popular showings are for Harry Potter, naturally, and draw out our most hardcore fans, who often come in costume.
3) There are not many major movie theaters within a short distance of Haverford College. We have an artsy-type movie theater in Bryn Mawr, but the biggest movies are only on in Narberth, Wayne, or King of Prussia, which adds to the long list of reasons not to go to the movies.

However, I do come from a family that loves its movies, and can be persuaded to go see a bigger movie, even considering the above reasons. Sometimes, you can’t wait until you’re on break – but I did see “The Artist” over break, which was excellent – and so you round up a bunch of friends and go. “The Hunger Games” is one movie that is in this special category. I read the books a while ago and enjoyed them, but didn’t love them, not even a little bit. Yet when some of my Katniss-crazy friends suggested we go and see the movie, I got on board, and we picked a time and drove to the King of Prussia theater.

It was quite the experience…some of us were incredibly excited and attached to the characters (not me), others enjoyed the “successful” adaptation of a book series to the big screen (me), and others decided to harp on the few missing details and subtleties inevitably lost in the transition to motion pictures. Regardless of the critical reaction, it was a worthwhile experience, particularly since I avoided the temptation to buy the Diet Coke and Buncha-Crunch. I can’t say I’ve seen many movies in theaters during our school year, but this certainly surpasses my visit to the midnight premiere of “Quantum of Solace”. This may just be a children’s book series, but it destroys that James Bond movie.

In this blog-post-turned-movie-review, I would suggest you see “The Hunger Games” yourself in theaters, but if you have limited movie-watching time, opt for the heartwarming “The Artist” or “Midnight in Paris” instead when they come out on DVD!

As I write this, it’s a chilly 42 degrees (thank you weather.com), windy, and I’ve been forced to relegate sundresses and sandals back to the depths of my closet.  I guess it is only the end of March…  Rewind a week ago, however, and the Haverford campus breathed summer.   Explosions of color, courtesy of our numerous cherry and magnolia trees, popped, birds chirped, and the sun shone with vigor.

I suppose I’ll have to wait the normal few weeks for summer to seep back into the atmosphere, but for now, I’ll settle for reminiscing on a heavenly afternoon in the sun.

It was Saturday and I was walking back down to my apartment* after a Customs mixer (I’m going to be an Ambassador for Multicultural Awareness next year!  See my “Fantastic Family” post for a reminder about Customs or visit www.haverford.edu/customs/ for more information).  It was a pleasant 76 degrees (see how much I love weather.com?) and the HCA green was just itching for some sunbathers.  I happily obliged.

I printed out some reading for the following week, grabbed a highlighter, a towel, and met my friends for some outdoor “studying.”  By “studying,” I mean it takes me twenty minutes to read one page because I spend eighteen of those minutes picking through the grass, giggling with friends, or just taking in the warmth.

Soon after, some students from my apartment came out to the green armed with two large garbage bins and a soccer ball. Pick-up soccer materials?  Check.  I played soccer competitively for ten years prior to Haverford, and my feet literally start twitching when the opportunity presents itself.  I had read a total of four of my eighty-plus pages for my Monday class… so I decided playing soccer for a bit wasn’t going to do much to staunch the speedy reading flow.  Pick up was phenomenal, complete with cheeky moves, spectacular misses, and lots of laughter.

Meanwhile, more Fords had arrived and set up a tightrope walk between two trees.  Apparently this is called slacklining (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slacklining); it looks super fun and super difficult for the balance challenged.  The quite adept slackliners also provided some musical reinforcements, and summer jams floated through the lazy day.

The final summer iteration came in the form of a soccer BBQ; the men’s varsity squad utilized the many grills dotting the HCA complex, and the smell of burgers and hot dogs soon wafted.  Yummy.

The utopian college environment now sufficed in all its components: some attempts at studying, sports, music, food, friends, and lovely weather.

My friends and I stayed outside until the setting sun threatened dropping temperatures, fully aware of the Sunday in the library that now awaited us.  We had taken in very little information for our coming classes, but we had taken in plenty of sun and joyous campus vibes.  And sometimes an afternoon outside is just what the collegiate doctor ordered.

And for when the sun returns, have an eye out for a post about…

Happy Spring!

*the Haverford College Apartments, or HCA, are on-campus apartments with full kitchens, private bathrooms, and big living rooms, and my favorite housing option.

As graduation approaches, the most popular question seniors receive on a nearly-daily basis concerns their interests and plans after life at Haverford. Our Career Development Office offers a host of opportunities to assist in that process, including resume reviewing, mock interviewing, and a targeted distribution of information about particular fields, strategies, or career paths. Students take advantage of the CDO to find externships or shadowing opportunities over breaks or summers, or to use the alumni directory to connect with Haverford alums all over the world.

I, however, was attending a conference – there are a number of thematic days made up of panels, speakers, and receptions when people from all corners of the Haverford community come to talk or learn more about a particular issue. Last week, there was a series of events organized around entrepreneurship. All of the events were open to students and alums, and drew a pretty large crowd. Of all of the panels and events, I found the keynote speaker, Mac Gamse ’93, to be the most interesting and enjoyable. Offering a broad overview of the strengths and qualities necessary to be a successful entrepreneur, Mac spoke about the value of his Haverford education and his time spent studying literature. While the translation may not be readily apparent, the skills he developed at Haverford proved crucial in his varying jobs and start-ups, and he now is the CEO of the Meritas family of independent schools. Bringing global lessons in perseverance, management, and creativity to Haverford, Mac told all of us in attendance about his successes and failures, inspiring and motivating those who may be the next great set of Haverford entrepreneurs.

Yet another component of the conference I found valuable and enjoyable was the opportunity to connect with other alumni, who ranged drastically in terms of field, age, and interest. Some traveled from a long way away to participate, and others came from relatively nearby, but all were interested in discussing what comes after Haverford, and ways we have (or plan to) bring the most valuable and lasting parts of Haverford into the greater global community.

I have not blogged in a very long time, and to all my avid followers, I apologize. Do not fear, I am back in action. I have failed at being a successful blogger over the past semester because I am not currently at Haverford. That’s right I am currently studying abroad in Rome, Italy. The abroad opportunities at Haverford are amazing and the programs they place us in are terrific. I am in Rome for the semester and am having the time of my life. The program I am in consists of 100 students from all over the United States, 5 of us are from Haverford, which makes up a whopping 5 % of the program! I have really loved being here. Rome is stunning. Everywhere I go I am blown away from the beauty of the city and everything that surrounds me.

While in Rome I am taking four courses; Fascism and Totalitarianism in Italy, Beginner Intensive Italian, Archaeology of Ancient Rome, and I have an internship as my final course. I am an intern at The International Spectator, which is a foreign policy political science journal based on Rome. It is a wonderful opportunity my program offers and I love working at the journal. My classes are really interesting and my favorite part of school is Thursday field trips with my archaeology class. On Tuesday our professor lectures about an archaeological site in Rome for an hour, and then on Thursdays we have a 2-hour field trip to the site we learned about in the previous class.

One of the other great parts about going abroad is traveling. I have been traveling as much as possible and have taken advantage of being in Europe. So far I have been to Barcelona, Milan, Brussels, Paris, and Pompeii. In each of these places I have been able to meet up with other Haverford students studying abroad and it has been such a fun experience to get to travel the world with my friends. Last weekend I was in Paris, where I met up with three other women from Haverford, who actually lived on my hall freshmen year. Customs groups really do become your family! I had the best time ever and it was so much to see my friends again because believe it or not, I really miss Haverford. I am currently two months in to my study abroad program in Rome and I am getting homesick, not for California, but for Haverford, Pennsylvania. Don’t get me wrong, I am absolutely in love with Rome, but it’s just not the same. Haverford has become my home away from home and being away from it has made me realize how special of a place Haverford is.

What I miss most about Haverford, besides my friends, would have to be the Honor Code! While abroad I have had to take all my exams in class and proctored by a professor. At Haverford, because of our wonderful Honor Code, we are given the freedom to take our exams on our own time in a place we feel most at ease in. I found myself stressed out about taking an exam in a classroom and I miss the responsibility and respect I am given by professors at Haverford. I really miss Haverford and I can’t wait to be back there this summer!