How are you feeling with graduation nearly six weeks away?
I think it’s nerve-wracking. I mean, to be honest, it still feels like a regular finals week. But it does feel weird that it’s the last finals week. I don’t think graduation is going to hit until I submit my thesis and I’m done—not just with this semester but college in general. I want it to be senior week because I want to be done with the semester, but at the same time that means that I have to leave.
Do you feel like you’ve changed over the course of your time at Hamilton?
Oh, yes. I think a lot of my class came in from COVID. It’s insane to think that freshman year we were wearing masks and to see where we are now. I think I’ve matured a lot in that I can set my priorities in my relationships and my friends. It’s been super cool to grow up with these people around me.
Something super cool about college is when you’re living with people, you get to go through stuff with them. College is the first time you really have the choice to choose who you want to be and who you want to associate yourself with.
What advice would you give to students in the grades below you about how to get the most out of their Hamilton experience?
Don’t procrastinate your work, but who actually does that? That’s BS. But also try not to get caught up in the day-to-day stresses and try to keep the bigger picture in mind.
I’m looking outside right now—it’s so nice out and I am stressed about work, but maybe I’ll just go outside and lie down in the grass for a little. So be willing to put down your work for a little. I don’t know after graduation when I’ll be in a place where I can walk to see one of my friends in thirty seconds. Make the most out of the fact that we live in a very nuclear space and you can get up within five minutes of being somewhere doing something.
What do you think makes Hamilton special?
I think our size. It really feels like home a lot of the time. I love that I can show up at McEwen at 12 and even if I didn’t make lunch plans with anyone, I know someone is going to be there.
I think the isolation is nice sometimes. We become a community because we have nothing else to do. I mean, it’s also a great school. I have taken awesome classes here and I really love the professors and the relationships we have with them. And also how willing students are to help one another. We are very supportive of one another.
What has been a meaningful extracurricular experience at Hamilton?
I’ve been doing water polo for three seasons now and I did rugby last semester. I think club sports are so fun because everyone is working toward a common goal but it’s also silly and fun—no one actually cares that much because it’s a club sport.
It has given structure to my routine. It’s such a good time to expend physical energy and be with friends.
Is there a particular moment that you remember when you realized that Hamilton was a place that you belonged?
I think it was actually when I was abroad, funnily enough. I was in Paris and one of my friends called me and they were here. And even though I was in Paris I was like, aw I miss that place—the realization that there were people and things here I really missed.
It’s really on us to make Hamilton home. You have to make those friendships and make your room feel like your own. I still have that feeling of a homecoming when I come back from breaks. I just drop my stuff off at the foot of my bed.
What are three of your favorite memories from your time at Hamilton?
I love move-in day. I’m an orientation leader. As a leader, you’re up super early and you’re dragging suitcases and fridges. There is something so communal about it. That’s definitely one.
My freshman fall was my first finals week and I remember being super stressed about an essay I had due. I was on FaceTime with one of my friends in the class and we started giggling at one point—it was 3 a.m.—we were out of it completely. It was a moment of, like, oh my God why are we doing this right now. But just having someone there with you. And we were like, how do you do citations again?
I also just love getting breakfast with people because in high school it’s such a lonely experience, but at Hamilton it’s a thing people do. It’s just a nice way to start the day.
What are you excited about for post-grad?
Probably living somewhere bigger. I am not sure where I am going to be living. I think there are pros to the isolation of Hamilton. We are very dependent on cars here, and I am excited to live somewhere where I can just walk down the street to a supermarket.
I really enjoyed being in such a small campus for my college experience, but it’s not something I want for the rest of my life. It makes it such a tight community and I don’t know if I would have been as close with people if I had gone to school in a city, but I feel ready to be somewhere bigger.
I am also excited to not have homework. No grades. I’m excited for the nice nap after I submit everything and then figuring out what to do with my life.
What is the most valuable lesson you’ve gotten out of your time at Hamilton?
People are really everything. That’s cheesy, but it’s true. I don’t really remember the classes I took freshman year or the sports that I was playing. I think in two to three years I won’t really remember much about the day-to-day problems I experienced here, but I will remember the people I met.
Sometimes I am having a bad day and just remembering my roommates are home and we can just talk before I go to bed.
