I first learned about Grinnell through my mother's friend Martha Ogilvie, a Grinnell alumna who now serves as the associate vice president for research at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.
After visiting Grinnell in the summer after my junior year, I fell in love with the collaborative community and calm campus atmosphere. Four years later, I so appreciate having had the opportunity to attend a small, tight-knit college without sacrificing opportunities for global engagement.
Comparative Global Health
In the spring of my first year, I was accepted to participate in a Global Learning Program (GLP) class on global health. This course was team-taught by a biology and sociology professor, and it incorporated three and a half weeks of global travel over college breaks... for an all-inclusive fee of $400!
Through visiting community health clinics, hospitals, and communities, we gained on-the-ground experience of what it is like for both health professionals and people receiving healthcare. By seeing the ways in which the United States' healthcare system could adopt winning strategies from elsewhere, I learned how much more I can ask of my elected officials.
Over our two-week March break, my class travelled to Cuba and Costa Rica. After finishing out the semester, we then spent the first ten days of summer in Denmark.
Residence Life at Grinnell
In my second year, I was selected to be a residential advisor through the Community Advisors (CA) program. At Grinnell, CAs do not fill a disciplinary role, but instead serve as live-in peer mentors, resources, and advocates within residential clusters. My cluster, nicknamed Loosehead, includes Loose, Haines, and Read residence halls.
During New Student Orientation (NSO), I led a group of first-year students through activities and discussions where we talked about norms and tricks of college life. My floor (Loose 2nd, to be precise) included a mixed group of first-, second-, third-, and fourth-years that I looked out for, providing resources and someone to talk to about the highs and lows of college life. My fellow CAs and I also enjoyed putting on monthly study breaks with free food and conversation!
Politics Up Close
Going to school in Iowa gave me many opportunities to get to know candidates in person, sometimes from only a few feet away. My peers and professors would ask them questions about their policy platforms, making me understand how national politics are not far from home after all.
Locally, I got involved with Crisis Intervention Services, a nonprofit in southeast Iowa that offers confidential resources and emergency housing to families fleeing domestic violence. I interned through the CLS's Service Learning Work-Study program, through which students can earn work-study dollars while working with a local service organization.
#IowaSummer
In the summer of 2019, I interned at the Grinnell College Office of Admission, giving tours and speaking with prospective students. The town positively glows in the summer months, and from the farmer's market, to the drive-in movie theater, to bike rides as the sun set, I thoroughly enjoyed slow-paced, small-town living.
Semester in Southeast Europe
After graduating from Grinnell, I worked part-time as a museum visitor associate at the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. As the first point of contact for all museum visitors, I greeted and welcomed guests, gave tours, and assisted in various museum projects. During this time, I was fortunate to also be a Jack Haley Research Fellow at the University of Oklahoma's Western History Collection, as well as a graduate assistant at the Freedom Center of Oklahoma City.
Now, I work full time as a special events concierge at the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, managing and executing on-site events, addressing problems that arise, and ensuring the safety of the museum.
My experiences in both my more temporary positions helped me improve my archival research skills, client presentation skills, project management skills, and research skills in the non-profit industries. I very frequently use the skills that I learned in my previous positions.
