Bard College Personal Statement

For the greater part of my adolescence, I was engulfed by the need to detach myself from my upbringing. Where I was raised, in a small Massachusetts town, the only aspect of the area that seemed to bring people together was an innate complacency to remain in one’s hometown. I believed that my only mode of escape was to pursue a higher education that bred students to be the exact opposite of what I had been surrounded by for the entirety of my childhood. I thought that college was an exciting enclave that would sever me from my past, and make me clairvoyant in eight semesters or fewer. I am fortunate, because I found some of that at Bard College. I considered majoring in political science because I want to elicit fundamental change in the institutions I care about. Foster care, prison conditions, and women’s access to government are bellwethers for our society’s moral compass. I want to have a role in keeping that compass straight, and I want my academics to give me the toolkit to do so.

Initially, I was enamored by my like-minded classmates. I soon realized, however, that while many of them share my political views, they do not share the experience of growing up in an economically diverse community. Exploration of numerous disciplines imparted upon me the realization that what I had been searching for all along was not a different major, but an even more foundational challenge. The cultural consensus is too thick here, at Bard. Paradoxically, many students are alarmists who lack urgency. By the time I graduate, I want to have a strong understanding of varying viewpoints and opinions, not just the one that permeates throughout my campus. I am seeking a community that pushes me to think beyond what is presented to me; to engage in dialogue with those who have opposing views to