I can’t believe my first semester of college has gone by so quickly. I feel as though I’ve still just moved in. My experience at Colgate so far has been equally amazing and stimulating. At first the adjustment to a college workload was challenging, but I’ve learned how to manage my time and adapt to the higher academic standards. I’ve really enjoyed my classes this semester. My freshman seminar class is a sociology class on popular culture and contested identities in the United States. We examined how ethnicity, race, gender, class, and other social identities shape the production and consumption of popular culture. This class has changed the way I look at culture and entertainment today and throughout our history. I also took chemistry, multi-variable calculus, and a geology and sustainability class called Earth’s Resources.

Going into college I wanted to try new things, so I joined the Ultimate frisbee team. Ultimate frisbee has been a blast, and I’ve enjoyed learning the sport. I spend a lot of time going to practices and playing in tournaments on the weekends. I also joined the Beekeeping Club. Colgate is a fairly small university in a remote location, but they do a great job of bringing events on to campus. This year marked Colgate’s Bicentennial, and they had a huge celebration with fireworks and an Earth, Wind & Fire concert. I’ve been exploring downtown area as well. The town of Hamilton is a super close community and they have a farmer’s market every Saturday in the summer and fall. I’m so grateful to everyone at MVYouth for granting me this incredible scholarship and opportunity. I already can’t wait for my next semester to start, and I know this is the right place for me. Thank you so much!