Wearing knee-high rainboots in a tropical rainforest, Elisabeth Burnor ’14 saw tree frogs, green parrots, toucans, hawks, hummingbirds, turtles, and spiders of every color, shape, and size. She reached a river with her fellow students, splashing her way upstream behind the guides and professor, when 15 minutes later, the rains came.
She writes in her blog:
And somewhere on the trek downstream, it hit me – I was spending my Saturday evening in the middle of a tropical rainforest, in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of a stream, in a rainstorm, knee-deep in water, stomping around, looking for frogs. And lizards. And I was having a fantastic time. Literally, having so much fun.
“Well,” I said to myself, “I guess this is what you’re going to have to do with your life.”
…Who knows whether I will ever successfully make a career of field research or instead become a teacher or college professor or writer or something entirely different. But now I know a little more about myself – I really, really like romping around in the woods and no matter which way the future goes, I will always make time to look for frogs in the rain.
Burnor is one of five students sharing their experiences on or off campus this semester in Voices, Lafayette’s student blogging website.
Brandi Porter ’13 writes about her adventures as a music major and theater minor. Recent topics include acting in the College Theater play Noises Off, which was recognized with multiple Certificates of Merit by the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival; Lafayette’s Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week; and a trip to New York City.
Peter Berexa ’14, a double major in psychology and anthropology & socioloy, writes about his time in Lafayette’s program at Goldsmiths College in London this semester. He recently reflected on the peculiarities of how the British speak English.
Binh Pham ’13 shares his perspective as a civil engineering major with a minor in architectural studies, recently writing about preparations for job interviews.
Madeline Gambino ’14, a double major in religious studies and history, writes about her semester in Morocco, where her parents just visited her, as she describes in her blog.
Karissa Ciliento ’14 and Molly Belcher ’14 blog about their fall season on the volleyball team.
Results from NSSE can provide prospective students with insights into how they might learn and develop at a given college. 