Think beyond

Major: English

Q. You live in Virginia but chose Drew University in New Jersey. Why so?
A. I came to several tours and open houses and was immediately drawn to the campus. The professors and students and staff—everyone was so friendly. It felt like someplace where I could spend four years.

Q. Was there anything else that attracted you to Drew?
A. Originally, I was interested in playwriting, and I came to Drew planning to study theatre arts—Drew has a great theatre arts program. But one of my required courses my first year changed my mind. The course was Introduction to Literary Analysis. I had always been interested in literature, but suddenly I had a professor who taught me a new way to read and a new way to think about literature. Instead of just regurgitating facts, I learned to think critically about what I had read and analyze its meaning.

Q. And what about the social life at Drew? How did you find your friends?
A. Clubs are where I met the people who became my best friends. There are so many clubs, and since Drew is a small school, you can take a leadership role right away. In my first semester of my first year, I got a supporting actress role in a play through the dramatic society. Through the University Program Board, students choose what kinds of programs, concerts and entertainment we want to bring to campus, so we are directly involved in creating a campus culture that we want. I am also involved with the Art History Club and the Orientation Committee. One year, I was the committee chair, which was a great leadership experience.

Q. What kind of learning experiences does Drew offer outside the classroom?
A. I’ve had two internships. One was a paid internship in the Drew admissions department, where I worked with an adviser to learn about the college-admissions process. And now I have an internship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York—and Drew even gave me a scholarship for it! I’m learning how a world-class museum is run. I get to go to a lot of events that are closed to the public, like gallery openings before the press release even goes out.

Q. So an English major is doing an internship at an art museum?  
A. Yes—just like my honors thesis is in art history even though I’m an English major. Drew encourages students to study across disciplines and bring different academic areas into their work. For example, my thesis is on the hidden symbolism and iconography of Michelangelo’s San Lorenzo Chapel in Florence, Italy, which I visited during my study abroad semester. My thesis research began to touch on philosophy—a subject I hadn’t studied—so I contacted the philosophy department. Now I have several philosophy professors sharing their guidance and advice, just as though I were a philosophy student.