Maddie’s Journey

Why Grinnell?

I’m from New York City — Manhattan, the Upper West Side. I went to a K–12 private school, so I grew up with the same people and knew them through our entire high school journey. I was ready for a little bit of a change.

I love the city and took great advantage of it. I would walk to school across the park every morning. I could use public transit, and I had such freedom.

Even so, I wanted something different. I had known those people very well. And we had also gotten competitive as we got older because it’s such an academically rigorous institution. I wanted to be away from that energy and that competitive environment. I wanted to do something different than what I had grown up with.

In high school, I studied in South Africa. I loved it. The director of my program in South Africa went to Grinnell and she was like, “You should just look at Grinnell. I know it’s not what you were thinking, but just take a peek.” 

I looked at it, and I really liked it, and now I’m here. I applied early decision too. It’s a much more inclusive student body, at least in my experience. Everyone’s invited to pretty much every event. It’s like, yeah, bring a friend. We’d love to meet them. 

That’s one way that it’s more inclusive, but also, everyone here is on their own academic journey. Everybody is interested in different things and cares about different things. Our priorities are very different. I think that’s because we come from so many different places and have such different backgrounds. We’re not competing for the same jobs or the same positions. I like that we support each other instead of competing. And we don’t compare grades. As long as you’re proud of yourself, we’re proud of you, too.

I value my support system and I’ve always been close to my family and friends and reliant on the larger community to build me up and make me stronger. When I was looking at Grinnell, I was looking for a place that had a strong community and valued lifting each other up and supporting each other. I also value meeting new people and diversity.

Grinnell boasted a large international population and a diverse campus. And I also wanted to be able to do things and take advantage of my education. And with its individually advised curriculum, Grinnell allowed me to get into lots of different activities and different subjects, and also allowed me to study abroad and to take advantage of lots of different things. Because of Grinnell’s a large endowment and curriculum, you’re able to just take advantage and explore.

Grinnell has definitely lived up to my expectations.

First-Year Experiences

I had heard a lot about what college was meant to be, so I had a lot of expectations in my head about the college experience and how amazing and life changing it would be.

In a lot of ways, it was amazing and life changing, but it also required work. Everything I loved about college required time to ground myself and to figure out who I am and what I care about. It wasn’t like I instantly got here and my friends were established and everything was smooth sailing. Things were difficult at times.

I pushed myself out of my comfort zone in lots of ways. I attended lots of events. I tried new clubs. I hosted things — board game nights, trips to the Strand Theatre. I was a big organizer my first year and made a lot of that happen. There were lots of good moments, but there are also hard moments.

But I was able to make my own schedule and figure out what mattered to me, and that was really good. It was a lot of mixed emotions, and being a first-year was very hard, but also very rewarding.

it’s a big transition. I don’t think we talk enough about how big of a transition it is. I was like, these are the best four years of my life. Why is the first year so hard? And it’s like, oh, it’s just the first year. These are still going to be great years. It’s just that the first year’s a little bit rough. You have to find your footing.

Academics

I randomly stumbled into anthropology. I thought I wanted to do philosophy and global development studies, but before I could do GDS, I had to take either an anthro, sociology, or econ class, and the anthropology one fit in my schedule the best. I ended up loving it and hating my philosophy 

class, so I decided to take another anthropology class in the spring, and I was hooked. I ultimately did not love GDS in the way I was expecting to. 

I love learning about Jewish people and media stereotypes in anthropology. I am currently working on a senior thesis for the discipline studying how Jewish comedians have been approaching Israel Palestine in their comedy since October 7, 2023. In doing this, I am also paying attention to the ways identity and politics work separately and together in comedy, and how people who sell their words and sketches to make a living navigate this dynamic.

My adviser has been helpful! She has written many recommendation letters and has been very available to talk. I appreciate all she has done for me, but she is currently on sabbatical so I have a new adviser. It is nice that I can go to anyone in the department for advice even through my adviser is taking a year away from Grinnell.

Activities

As a first year, I sampled almost everything. I rock climbed and swam. I also began attending Chaverim, the Jewish Students Club, which hosts Friday night dinners and services. I was nominated to serve as the first-year representative on the board that year, which was exciting. During my second year, I continued on the board and was the sociocultural chair. I really involved myself in that community. And that has stuck, although in a different capacity this year.

I also began going to Pub Quiz on Wednesdays. Later, I was a pubmaster, which means I was a leader and wrote the trivia questions. Even now, every Wednesday at 8:30, I go to Pub Quiz. Even if my work is stressful, I’ll be like, I can go for an hour and then go back to work. I’m very conscious of maintaining balance and I need that for myself. 

During my second year I decided to try Ultimate Frisbee. I loved it and have stuck with it ever since. It’s an intramural team — we compete against other college teams in the Midwest. It’s a big group, but really close. I love it! I am not the best on the team by any means, but I have a lot of fun and I try my best, and I think that’s what really matters. I’m the social chair now. I foster community, make study sessions, plan movie nights, and organize clothing swaps and other things. I also organize donut runs to Grin City and Dari Barn visits when it’s open.

I’ve gotten to travel with Ultimate a little. It’s been fun. I’ve been to Northfield, Minnesota, a few times. And then to Wisconsin, to Madison. I really feel grateful for Ultimate Frisbee. Some of my closest friends at Grinnell are people I met through Ultimate. It’s a great community.

Jobs

For years, I’ve worked at summer camp and really enjoyed it. I’ve worked my way up through the ranks. This year I was a group leader for the 16-year-olds. It was a meaningful summer, and I think they grew a lot. And it was amazing to watch these kids grow in a beautiful setting on a lake in upstate New York.

In high school and my first year at Grinnell, I also worked with the Anne Frank Center in New York. I helped with some of their teen programming, with their social media outreach and involvement in the Anne Frank Youth Network. I’m still in touch with them and really enjoyed working for them.

Study Abroad

I studied abroad for an entire year through two different programs. 

My first study-abroad program in Wroclaw, Poland, was through Syracuse University. It’s a small niche program looking at identity across borders in central Europe from right before 1900 up to the fall of communism. 

We needed a foundation in the Polish language. so I had a language class for an hour and a half every day. It was exhausting, but also fun. I’m not fluent in Polish by any means. However, I’m able to have a nice intermediate conversation. It’s rewarding and it feels good.

I also did an internship that was part of a joint project with the Urban Memory Foundation and Oppenheim, a German-Polish cultural institution with a museum cultural center in Poland. I worked on the installation of Stolpelstein, or stumbling stones — the bronze stones placed outside of homes of former Jewish residents that have their names, dates, deportation dates, and what their fate was — where they were deported to and if they died or lived.

It was very interesting. For instance, I helped research the Hertz family. They were shoemakers. The building was half a shoe shop and half a residence. They were deported to Auschwitz during the war, but their youngest children lived and are now in Israel. And I got to talk to them!

The next semester, I studied in Copenhagen, Denmark. I was in Denmark from January through May. When the days got longer and warmer, everybody takes advantage of it in such a beautiful way.

Although it never got that warm, I would still swim in the harbor, even in the winter. The Danes call it winter bathing. I rented a bike for the semester and biked, regardless of the weather, wherever I was going. I got to explore the city and travel a bit. I ate pastries galore and really got to live as a Dane for a little while. It was fun. 

I’m thankful for Grinnell because I was able to do both programs. I think I learned a lot from both of them and grew a lot as a person. It also made me appreciate the community I’ve built here. I was excited to come back. I think I’m able to get more out of college now. I recognize this is my last year, and I’m taking advantage of that.

Course-Embedded Travel

As a second-year, I took a class that offered course-embedded travel. Students in these classes travel with faculty and classmates for one or two weeks, usually over break.

The course was called Collective Memory in Anthropological Perspectives, taught by Professor Brigittine French. There were 15 students, and I think about 11 of them were seniors. Two were third-years, and I was one of only two second-years. I felt a little bit out of place. I was a lot younger than most of the people, and it was my first-ever seminar.

That being said, when we traveled together, it was amazing. We became this intimate friend group in our travels. We’d laugh. We’d have a lot of fun. We’d also learn a lot of hard things and just struggle through them together, which was great. 

We traveled to Dublin and Belfast for 10 days over spring break to study how memory formation took place there, and how collective memory has impacted modern society in Northern Ireland as related to the English occupation. It was interesting.

Because there were only two second-years, it was almost like all the seniors would take care of me and my friend. They’d be like, hand us your passport. We’ll check you into the hotel. And did you eat enough? And we were like, yes, we’re okay. 

It was also my birthday on the trip, which was just the most fun. 

Getting back from that trip, we were so much closer as a class. We were able to delve into material in a new, interesting, meaningful way because of how much we had grown together in our time abroad.

Research

I mentioned I am currently doing research on Jewish comedians, with Brigittine French as my adviser and Owen Kohl as a second reader. Because I am just beginning the project, I don't know exactly what I like about the research or what I will learn — it’s a work in progress!

I have also done research on Jewish involvement in anti-apartheid movements in South Africa with Professor Emeritus Katya Gibel Mevorach. This was during my second year, and happened because I just walked into her office, told her I was interested in her work, and asked if she needed a research assistant (I feel lucky the answer was yes!).

I have loved doing research. I don't know what I want to do post-grad yet but I could definitely see myself continuing to do research, as I like asking questions and learning new things!

Friends and Fun

I have to carve out time for the people I care about and want to spend time with. As I’ve gotten older, it’s become even more important, making sure that I have time for my friends, but also to take time for myself to refuel and keep going. 

I love going on walks. My friends and I are always going on a walk. It will be the middle of winter, and we’re like, “So, should we go on a walk right now? The sun’s about to set. It’ll be beautiful.” I love exploring Grinnell with my friends. 

Now we live off campus, so we spend a lot of time cooking together. We invite people over and cook with them, which is always so fun. We hosted a murder mystery dinner party and we play Dungeons and Dragons — lots of random things.

Every Wednesday my friends and I go to Pub Quiz together, and then afterwards we hang out and watch TV. Sometimes we just chat or play cards, and it’s fun to have those rituals and those routines.

We make Grinnell awesome!

My Grinnell Bucket List

I have a full bucket list for my senior year. It includes going to the Model Train Society, and random things like trying different restaurants in town. I want to try new things. I want to explore the different parks and nature places off campus, like CERA (the College’s Conard Environmental Research Area), and Rock Creek State Park. I run around Arbor Lake here in town a lot, but I want to go a little bit further afield, like the nearby Jacob Krumm Nature Preserve, too. That’s a nice place to run.

My friends and I went apple picking. Afterwards, we had Apple Week. Everybody had a day when they were responsible for making an apple dessert. It was midterms week, and we always knew that regardless of how stressful our day was, that night, we would have a little apple treat waiting for us from one of our friends. It was really fun and nice. I just want to keep taking advantage of everything that’s here in my last year. 

My bucket list is continually growing. I feel like I’m sounding corny, but I’ve really learned to love Grinnell. I don’t know if a small town is always going to be for me, but because I have such great people to share it with, it’s a great place to spend four years. I’d be fine if it was five.

Hopes and Dreams for the Future

I’m still figuring out what’s ahead for me. I’m one of the four Grinnell students who were nominated for a Watson Fellowship. If I win, my Watson project would take me to Argentina, the Netherlands, Italy, India, and Singapore. I’d be looking at two primary things: intergenerational value sharing within the Jewish community and how the Jewish community has changed throughout time and how it has both impacted and been impacted by the cultures that surround it.

I have the privilege of being very close to my family. Regardless of what happens in the spring, I’m definitely going to take some time to live at home and figure out what’s next. Grinnell has all these great resources that are never going to leave me, and I’m definitely taking advantage of them. 

I would like to take some time away from academia. If the Watson doesn’t work out, I’d do one more summer at camp and then live at home for two months and figure out what’s next. I don’t want to live at home forever, but in that time, I would take advantage of Grinnell’s resources and set up meetings with CLS. My adviser is great and very helpful.

But I don’t feel any real time pressure, and I want to make the most of Grinnell while I’m here. And if the Watson works out, then that will be great, and I’ll do that.