Getting here:

I was looking for a place where people cared & engaged with each other as a learning community! I found the website, obsessed over the course offerings, visited during fall fly-in, and knew I had to be here! 

Classes

I’ve taken all of these exciting classes!!

Fall 20: Human Ecology Core Course, Writing for Social Change, Acadia: The National Park Idea 

Winter 21: The Power of Debt, Equity + Social Justice in Education, A History of God

Spring 21: Rethinking the Canon, Macroeconomics, Independent Study: The Climate Crisis & Emotions

Fall 21: Performance & Ecology, This Placed Called India, Chemistry & Biology of Food and Drink

Winter 22: Chaos and Fractals, Understanding and Managing Group Dynamics, Diaspora and Unbelonging, The Human Ecology of A.I. 

Spring 22: On Questions of Rights, Responsibility, and Reparations, Hydropolitics in a Thirsty World, Independent Study: Governance in Practice 

Fall 22: American Dreaming, Contemporary Dance Technique, Transforming Food Systems

Favorite class:

how about a top three?

A History of God, with Gray Cox!! Amazing discussions about metaphysics,  mysticism, infinity, dreams, puzzling questions about religious texts and lots of self-exploration through the process!

Perfomance & Ecology, with Khristian Mendez!! I don’t know how to precisely explain it but this class was exactly what I needed to re-engage with big questions about the climate crisis, through the process of thinking about and making theatre!! 

Group Dynamics, with Bonnie Tai!! I think this was one of the classes that have helped me make the most sense of what I see myself doing after COA and why I am so passionate about groups and thinking about ideas of belonging! 

My approach to human ecology:

Community + Love + Systems + Social Change + Connectedness = Human Ecology

Internship:

I interned at Raritan Headwaters in Bedminster, NJ and kicked up rocks, learned about benthic macroinvertebrates (stream bugs!), helped kids play in mud kitchens, supported the volunteer stream monitoring program, dressed up as a friendship fairy, and thought a lot about watersheds!

Life on Mount Desert Island:

Swimming in the ocean at unreasonable temperatures!! Lots of yummy maple syrup treats + blueberry treats!! Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful views!! On a clear night, starry skies like I had never before seen!

Activities, traditions, celebrations:

Working at TAB + Sea Urchin Cafe! Community dinners! Participating in governance on the Steering Committee! Being a part of the Bar Harbor Student Housing Co-Op!

Passions & motivations:

emergent strategy!! (thinking about a world where relatively small, simple interactions lead to big, complex changes!)

COA might be the right college for you if...

  • you like having “aha” moments in your classes!
  • you get stressed out about the idea of picking out a major!
  • your ideal first date is a walk in the woods!
  • you enjoy engaging with philosophical ideas and thinking about paradoxes and contradictions and plurality!

Ephemera:

my top-three ways to hang out with people at COA are (1) going for a walk or a hike, (2) sharing a meal together, and (3) collaging or some kind of art-making! 

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Granola. Almond Milk. Chocolate Chips. Toast. Avocado. Nutritional Yeast. Pasta. Broccoli. Jalapeño Chips. Tofu. Vegan Lasagna. Bell Peppers. Carrots. Sweet Potatoes. Spinach. Pita Chips. Hummus. Tortilla Chips. Salsa. Smoked Paprika. Onion. Garlic. Juice! Rice. Dal