Katherine Kihiczak ’25: Get lost in the Crum.
Joshua Ovadia ’25: The big advantage of coming to Swarthmore versus other comparable institutions, both liberal arts and otherwise, is the professors. People come to Swarthmore because they know that the teaching is going to be a more intensive experience, because they know that the course load isn’t going to be more intensive in and of itself, but more is expected of Swarthmore professors than of Harvard professors. Because we are not a research university, we are a liberal arts school, and therefore, we have commensurately greater opportunities available to us. Furthermore, they are more easily accessible to us than those at Penn, Harvard, Duke, or any other school. The onus is on you to reach out to your professors because they really do want to form those connections. Not every professor is going to invite you over to their house, but every professor is going to have some degree of engagement that they are willing to have with their students. Figuring out what that degree is, with as many of your professors as possible, is important. Doing that has made my experience at Swarthmore meaningful insofar as I’ve been able to build connections with people in all stages of their career, in all stages of their life. Beyond the student body, beyond the amazing things accessible at Swarthmore, because let’s be honest, every top school is going to have amazing students and amazing resources accessible, the professors are really what makes this place different. If that’s not why you came here, that’s fine, but I wouldn’t leave here without having made a meaningful connection with at least a couple of your professors.
Zaid Ali ’25: Get off of campus every couple weeks to remind yourself that there is a world outside Swarthmore.
Stathis Kalathias ’25: Be honest and compassionate and make the most of summer funding.
Nathanael Brown ’25: My favorite part of my Swarthmore experience has been listening to my friends talk about their academic interests. Listening to my friends like Lucas Alland talk about his math research, or Adrian Ferguson talk about his latest Russian paper, or Jamie Pickar make his jokes about engineering are the things that I will most remember from my Swarthmore career. Even if I don’t know anything about those topics, just seeing my friends get excited about their interests makes me excited for them. Embrace your friends’ interests and listen to what they are studying, researching, and talking about. Don’t confine yourself to the narrow silo of your own major, make friends with people who study something totally different from you and ask them about their interests.
Claire Ottenstein ’25: Turn and face the strange – David Bowie.
Matt Gutow ’25: The only bad thing to do here is nothing. Be generous with your time towards others, but don’t expect things back. The more you open yourself to meet interesting people here, the better you’re gonna develop. Just remember that there’s a lot of goals for people at this school. Even though you may not be aligned in professional aspirations, you can respect each others’ values and what you’re trying to do with your times, and that’s where you can find unique friendships. The things you do take the time you give them. You will fill your time no matter what, you might as well do more interesting things than sit in your room and do homework.
Sophia Schmitz ’25: Check your emails – like, actually read them.
Prince Tardeh ’25: Firstly, learn to step outside of your friendship bubble; get to know other people outside of your friend group. Even though you still need your friends, but you might also need others in the future. Secondly, as a student at this school, every time you think you’re struggling with a project, paper, or anything, chances are almost half of the students in that class are struggling and facing the same experience that you are. The best way to stay flawless on this campus is to not be a human. You’re always going to offend someone, so you shouldn’t expect everyone to like you at Swarthmore. The more you come to accept that, the more you tend to be yourself and not try to be something you’re not.
Ruthie Njagi ’25: Always do a Swat swivel, but never stop spreading awareness.
Pradip Sharma Poudel ’25: Get along with people. If there’s a choice between going to bed or being stuck in your room doing homework and going out with friends, I’d say go out with friends.
Lovely piece, Nathanael. Reminds me why I love this place 🙂