Think beyond ...

Sophomore
Major: Biology

Q. What’s the best thing about Drew University?
A. I love the small setting. You’ll never have a class with 200 students. The classes are small, and so the professors can walk around and work with each student individually. The professors know your name, are always willing to help and stop to talk with you on the paths.

Q. And what’s the second-best thing about Drew University?
A. I went to an all–African-American high school, and I wanted college to be a diverse experience that mirrors the real world. Drew is not all one race, and because it’s small, you interact with everyone, with all different kinds of people. That’s important to me.

Q. So how do people meet and interact at Drew? What’s your secret to making friends?
A. Clubs! I’m involved with the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, Orientation Committee, Student Government Association, Habitat for Humanity and Tri Beta—the club for biology majors. Right now, though, I am really excited about the Pan-African Choir. We just got our robes, and we’re about to go on a two-week concert tour of the northeast, from Boston to Washington. We sing spirituals and songs with an African background—we even learned some songs in African languages.

Q. Any other advice for making yourself at home on the Drew campus?
A. The residence halls are the center of social life at Drew. Students also can take leadership roles on campus through involvement in residence life. I’m the senator for my residence hall, Baldwin, which means I am the liaison and spokesperson for residents at the residence life meetings.

Q. Does your family ever come to visit you on campus?  
A. Yes, they’ve come to see me sing with the choir and to see me on my birthday. They also came up for Drew’s annual on-campus Family Weekend. There are all kinds of family events on campus that weekend: concerts, speakers and plays, plus games and activities for younger brothers and sisters. Some families stay all weekend right on campus. My parents stayed in a hotel, but my sister stayed with me in my residence hall. It was fun to show her around campus and show her what college life is all about.

Q. OK then—what is college life all about at Drew? 
A. It’s college! Have fun but take your work seriously. It’s important to learn time-management skills and to take advantage of all the resources that are available. The academics are really challenging here, but the small environment plus open professors means that students get lots of individual attention. When I graduate I will be well prepared for anything I want to do.