For most wide-eyed freshmen, the green landscape of Amherst doesn't look anything like home. In fact, it often takes the full four years for some students to call western Massachusetts home. For one senior, however, the transition from Wilmington, Del. to Amherst was a smooth one. "I'm not from a big city," said Wallis Molchen '04. "So it was nice to be in a similar environment to the one I grew up in. After four years and a summer spent at Amherst, I've become attached to certain things here and it has become just like home."

Molchen certainly made herself at home at Amherst, shining in the classroom, on the tennis courts and in the lab. A pre-med psychology major, Molchen arrived at Amherst after 13 years at a small, private school in Delaware with only 50 students in her graduating class. 

To say that Molchen was just an ordinary student-athlete in high school would be a gross understatement. She was the female Athlete of the Year at her high school, and a varsity standout in tennis, soccer, volleyball and basketball, winning numerous all-conference and all-state honors.

Even though she attended a small school, her tennis team won the state championship and Molchen won the individual state championship. As the big fish in a small pond at home, Molchen felt a little humbled when she saw the talent at Amherst. "It was a big adjustment when I got to Amherst and met my teammates, who have all been incredible and talented."

When thinking about colleges, Molchen knew what she was looking for. "I knew I wanted a small liberal arts college. But my guidance counselor was an Amherst graduate and my history teacher was a Williams grad, so they made the decision difficult."

On the courts

Someone who made the adjustment to Amherst anything but difficult was Molchen's tennis coach, Jackie Bagwell. "I'm closer to Jackie than most people are to their coaches because we're together a lot," said Molchen.

Bagwell has equally flattering compliments for her only senior player. "Wallis is the most unselfish player I have ever had on a team. If I had to use one word to describe Wallis it would be committed," said Bagwell.

For her senior year, Molchen was named captain, an honor that her teammates feel she fully deserves. "Wallis is a great tennis player, leader, captain and person," said Rachel Holt '05. "She has been an integral part of our team for the past few years, playing through injury and concussion and almost always winning nonetheless. She is a hard worker both academically and on the courts, often staying after practice because she has missed the beginning due to one of her many labs. We're definitely going to miss her leadership and friendship next year."

Molchen has earned numerous honors on the court as well. She is a two-time winner of the number-three doubles championship at the New England Women's Intercollegiate Tennis Tournament, teaming with Kristen Raverta '06 this fall and Erin Murphy '05 in 2002. Molchen also won her singles flight as a sophomore in 2001. In addition, she earned First-Team All-NESCAC honors in doubles this year.

As far as tennis highlights go, Molchen will always remember this year's match against Williams at home. Coach Bagwell made pins with Molchen's picture on them and all her teammates wore them to show their affection for their lone graduating teammate. In addition, Molchen's parents surprised her by coming up for the match, and she responded, winning both of her matches.

In the classroom

Despite a grueling two-season tennis schedule, Molchen still found time to write a psychology thesis under the supervision of Assistant Professor of Psychology J.P. Baird.

For her thesis, Molchen studied animal models of depression. She used the "Forced Swim" and "Amphetamine withdrawal paradigms" to depress rats and then applied lick microstructure to the feeding behaviors of the depressed rats in order to find anhedonia, the inability to gain pleasure from normally pleasurable experiences. If it sounds confusing, don't worry, it is! "This is a new process," said Molchen. "Professor Baird is one of the first to study this. I got significant results, which means my study could be important, but at this point, it's still hard to tell."

"Over her four years Wallis has been extremely committed to the classroom," said Bagwell. "Every semester she has had a very rigorous course schedule and she has been totally dedicated to her academics but at the same time totally committed to the tennis team. Even though Wallis had a much tougher academic schedule than most, she never made excuses and never missed practices."

Molchen credits the psychology department as a whole for being supportive during her thesis and for challenging her in new ways. She points to Assistant Professor of Psychology Matthew Schulkind as someone who has been especially helpful. "He has been really supportive and someone I can go to with problems. I've gotten to know his family [through babysitting] which has been great and he's someone I definitely want to keep in contact with after college."

Plans for the future

As a pre-med psychology major, Molchen thinks she may attend medical school. "Medical school is something I'm interested in and working towards but there's so many details and logistics," she said. "I'm planning on taking some time off to decide before I commit 100 percent."

Molchen has still not decided what she will do after graduation, but she knows that even if she's working long hours, tennis will still be a large part of her life. "I'm looking for a research position, but for the summer, I may just go home and spend some time traveling and visiting friends," she said. "However, it's not out of the question for me to head to Bermuda or the Bahamas and go teach tennis."

Wherever she ends up after graduation, Molchen knows what it will take to succeed, knowledge she gained from her parents. "I'm really close with my parents. They've pushed me in a good way to be the best I can be. They're really proud that I'm at Amherst and playing tennis and involved in a lot of activities. They've always been optimistic and supportive and always will be."

And they should be proud of their only child; she has had quite a remarkable four years of college. "This is the first time I'll be able to take a deep breath. I haven't had the easiest four years, but I've been strong and been resilient and sacrificed so much this semester. Even with people telling me otherwise, I still stuck with everything and achieved all my goals. I've had a great experience."