In the series “Student Voices,” current students write about the reasons they chose Hampshire and how our educational model works from their perspective.
Neurobiology and sculpture, labor justice organizing and poetry, computer animation and ancient literature… sometimes I smile at the academic interests of those around me at Hampshire, and how incredibly lucky we are to have such freedom in our studies.
The beauty of a Hampshire education is in never having to choose between your various, multifaceted interests and be in stuck a rigid “major,” like at many other colleges. We create our own concentrations, guided by a faculty committee we select to work with us.
When I eagerly entered Hampshire last year, President Jonathan Lash spoke to our entering class outside on the Library Lawn on a hot August afternoon. One of his statements stuck with me: “Seventy percent of the jobs that will be available to you all when you graduate do not even exist yet.” Hampshire prepares us for the real world – a world that’s rapidly changing and requiring new skills, knowledge, and resources to be successful – but more importantly, to make a difference.
My best friend Juliette is, to me, a great example of true interdisciplinary studies here. We’re both active members in Hampshire’s Climate Justice group (having gotten arrested at protests together twice now) and know that working to mitigate the climate crisis will, in some way, be our life’s work. Juliette is also deeply interested in science and molecular biology. She’s working to create a Division II about finding and creating the connections between climate activists and scientists, and creating a more sound and useful way for them to work together. She weaves together phytoremediation – the use of plants to extract heavy metals and organic pollutants from the water, air, and soil – with activism and organizing, and hopes to bridge the gap between upper-level science academia with frontline communities and grassroots organizers.
I simply cannot imagine attending a school that puts me in a box and forces me to take certain classes. I feel so incredibly blessed to be apart of the Hampshire pedagogy that allows me to study what drives me. My Division II is also twofold: Grassroots community organizing in the climate movement and how to build a sound movement for true climate mitigation and justice. Paired with climate psychology and emotion, or studying how organizers and those affected by climate change handle the intense emotions of the issue, and how we can create safe, loving, and welcoming spaces and communities to foster emotional care.
Hampshire is surely the top school that offers interdisciplinary studies, not just in Western Massachusetts, but also in the nation. Colleges that Change Lives is correct – just wait until you see some of the fascinating ideas that are born from the minds of students here, all because we’re given the freedom to study what truly drives us.
Interested in Hampshire’s Climate Justice group?
Check us out on Facebook and Hampedia (Hampshire’s wiki).
Want to see more examples of fascinating Division III (senior) projects?
Check out the 2014 Student Highlights!
Turn your ideas into action.
Learn more about Hampshire College.
