My most rewarding Bucknell opportunity has been the experience of giving back to Bucknell and its community that has been so integral in supporting me throughout college. First, as a participant in Federal Work Study, I have represented the Student Calling Program as a student development officer since August 2022. I have fostered conversations and built rapport with alumni and parents to discuss shared campus experiences, provided updates on Bucknell news/events and requested continuous financial support of the Bucknell Annual Fund. Moreover, I was promoted to student development monitor in August 2023 and have added the responsibility of providing support and guidance to approximately 5-10 fellow student development officers per shift by listening to their conversations with prospective donors, evaluating caller performance and suggesting individual feedback via meetings. I have also successfully led skill-building workshops to enhance caller’s competencies and knowledge.

Secondly, I experienced a full circle moment while working with a Bucknell alumna in the Class of 1990. I was grateful to have this individual write a letter of recommendation as part of my college application. This past summer, I accepted an unpaid internship from this same person, who is the co-founder of a regenerative agriculture and sustainable finance company. In fact, I am continuing to do remote project work this fall. This has stood as a testament to the importance and strength of Bucknell alumni connections.

Lastly, as an Arts Merit Scholar in dance, I have been able to balance one of my lifelong passions with a double major and a minor. As a dance minor, I have not only built an academic foundation, but also danced in Bucknell Dance Company’s mainstage dance concerts/choreographer’s showcases, collaborated with faculty, professional guest artists-in-residence and student choreographers, aided as a departmental ambassador at open-houses, and participated in community outreach. Moreover, I received the Juliet Shield-Taylor Undergraduate Theatre Summer Research Grant and actively participated in the Bates Dance

Festival the summer of 2023, in which I built upon my dance education by learning new dance styles and methods while working with an incredibly gifted and acclaimed faculty, as well as contributing to the Bates international dance community. Ultimately, I shared my learnings with the Bucknell dance program.

My greatest learning experience at Bucknell was a personal learning experience that I faced over the course of my spring 2023 semester leading into the summer. I was impacted by a debilitating mental health issue (documented by the Counseling & Student Development Center) that initially impacted my personal life and academics, but with the help of the Bucknell community, I was able to turn my life around and even qualify for the dean’s list. The experience taught me the importance of having community around me like friends, professors and our student health team, and how to prioritize myself.

It is my hope to either intern abroad for exposure for a global career in law, child advocacy, psychology or social work and/or eventually attain a full-time job. I also would like to attend graduate school within five years of graduation to further deepen my academic interests and passions.

It is also my hope to further connect and even possibly meet you in the future!

Thank you very much for the funding I have received from your scholarship. I am studying abroad for my fall semester in Scandinavia, and am incredibly grateful to receive your generous support for undergraduate education at Bucknell.

As a sociology/philosophy double major and dance minor, I am on track to graduate in the spring of 2025. I am currently abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark—a lifetime dream and the same program my mom studied at in college in 1984!

Abroad, I am immersed in five experiential courses: Holocaust and Genocide (sociology credit; three-day study tour in Northern Germany and a week study tour in Poland); History of Emotion and Mental Health (psychology elective credit); Urban Ecology (Natural Science and Math credit), Anthropology of Food (Environmental Connections credit), and Danish Language and Culture (language immersion required credit). I am currently sharing an apartment with three students from various United States Universities, initiating a Danish connection with a visiting host, taking a dance class, exploring Europe, and facing the many challenges inherent in my new environment.

I especially look forward to sharing my experiences with my advisors, professors, friends, co-workers and the Bucknell community upon my return to campus, as well as publishing an article on Bucknell’s Her Campus (lifestyle website) encouraging others to study abroad!