I grew up in Reno, Nevada and Cupertino, California. I really miss the weather sometimes and the beautiful coastal areas along the Pacific Ocean.
What made you decide to come to Amherst?
The people I met who go or had gone here really loved it, and I felt it’d give me great chances to explore things I hadn’t really done or looked into before.
What is your favorite place to study in Amherst?
Fourth Floor Stearns study nook, the one next to Sinead and Liz’s room.
If I looked at your iPod right now, what song would you be most embarrassed of having?
Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani.
What is your favorite website?
It varies, but I was sucked into Curious Notions for a long time this year.
What is your favorite food at Val?
Frank’s Red Hot Chicken Fillet Sandwich.
Define the following word: “sketchy.”
Adj. — a severely overused word used to describe shady situations, people, or things. I looked it up and apparently it means “not thorough or detailed.”
You are in Glee Club. What do you like most about it? What is your favorite song?
I never sang before coming to college, so it’s quite a bit of musical education that I’d never been previously exposed to. It’s a lot of fun and a great way to break up the workweek, plus the guys are awesome. As for a favorite song ... “And So It Goes” by Billy Joel.
You are taking Turkish right now. What made you decide to take Turkish?
I’m thinking about studying abroad in Turkey sometime in the future (summer, semester, post graduation, who knows) and obviously it would help to know the language. I’ve been to Turkey twice before and really liked it.
What is something that not many people know about you?
Back in elementary and middle school, my mom and I (pretty much meaning just my mom) made a hot dog costume for me to wear every year for Halloween. The design got better every year, but the basic idea was that I’d wear all red and have two “buns” on either side of me that I slipped my arms through. Then there’d be yellow yarn zigzagging across the front between the buns for mustard. It started out as wrapped cardboard with newspaper as stuffing but evolved into soft foam pads with felt coverings filled with polyester stuffing. We got the idea from the children’s book “The Hallowiener.”
What is your favorite topping on pizza?
Honestly, I think I like just cheese the best.
If you could take five things to a deserted island, what would you take and why?
I’m tempted to just list things helpful for survival, but that’s really boring. So, instead, I’d bring a hammock, a motorboat and driver, fuel and parasailing equipment.
What are your plans for the summer?
I’m going to be working the Serve 2.0 Social Media Summer Internship for the CCE as part of the Pioneer Valley Citizen Summer program. Basically, it involves researching the needs of different volunteer organizations on campus and then creating training packages to show them how to adapt certain social media tools, like twitter, Facebook, RSS, etc., to their effective use. We’ll probably also find ways to use such technology to document the work done by these groups and other volunteers in the Pioneer Valley summer program as well. When I’m not doing that, I’ll probably be home doing some backpacking and beach going.
What is one hobby that you have? What do you like about it?
I love the great outdoors, although I haven’t been going out enough recently. I’m pretty into backpacking especially. I remember times out in the Sierras where you just don’t see another person, aside from the few you’re with, for days. We’d go explore the forests, swim in alpine streams and lakes, see the great views from the top of mountains and, at night, watch thousands of stars in skies that are almost untouched by city lights — all while unconnected by technology to the “outside” world. It really puts life back into perspective and makes you think about things you don’t often otherwise.
What were your favorite childhood TV shows?
I remember watching Captain Planet, the Rugrats, Crocodile Hunter, Tom and Jerry, Looney Toons, Dexter’s Lab and Spongebob, among others. I think by the time Spongebob was out I was quite a bit older, but whatever, I had a long childhood.
What fictional character best represents you and why?
Shrek. I’ve got layers.