Showing 211 - 220 of 388 Items

Interview with Sajjad Jaffer (Class of 1995) by Marina Henke

Date: 2019-11-09

Creator: Sajjad Jaffer

Access: Open access

Sajjad Jaffer ('95) shares remarks on his experience as an international student from Tanzania. He explores his own journey towards finding a sense of belonging in Brunswick, Maine, worlds away from his life in eastern Africa. Jaffer speaks of the vast privilege that Bowdoin offered compared to his life at home, while also commenting on the difficulties of being a Muslim student and minority student on campus at the time. Jaffer shares the way that he continues to support Bowdoin students coming from African countries. “This is dedicated to the first American-born in my family- my daughter, Sophie Malaika Jaffer. Sophie recently started middle school as a 6th grader at Castilleja School in Palo Alto, CA. Castilleja has a tradition of picking a word as a theme for the academic year. For 2019-20, the theme is “Belonging”. Acknowledgments I want to thank J. Taylor Crandall ’76 for sharing 3 valuable lessons over the years: 1. It is the student who makes the school, not just the school that makes the student 2. Where there’s a will, there’s a way 3. Carpe diem – seize the day This reflection was influenced and reinforced by 5 notable Polar Bears: 1. Staci Williams ’90 for being my Bowdoin Big Sister 2. Geoffrey Canada ’74 who changed the world 3. Hari Kondabolu ’04 for challenging Hank Azaria, creator of The Simpsons 4. Kenneth Chenault ’73 who reminded us that business is the last frontier in the civil rights movement 5. Alvin Hall ’74 my Bowdoin Soul Brother About Sajjad graduated from Bowdoin in 1995 with a double major in Computer Science, Government and minor in Economics. Sajjad lives in Silicon Valley and co-founded a technology company that applies data science to private equity investing. The firm was founded on 25 years of research from Wharton where he did his MBA and serves on the board of the Wharton Customer Analytics research center."


Reflections questionnaire response by Anonymous on April 1, 2021

Date: 2021-01-01

Creator: Anonymous

Access: Open access

This is a response to the Documenting Bowdoin & COVID-19 Reflections Questionnaire. The questionnaire was created in March 2021 by staff of Bowdoin's George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives. The author is from the class of 2022.


Reflections questionnaire response by Anonymous on March 31, 2021

Date: 2021-01-01

Creator: Anonymous

Access: Open access

This is a response to the Documenting Bowdoin & COVID-19 Reflections Questionnaire. The questionnaire was created in March 2021 by staff of Bowdoin's George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives. Author is class of 2024.


Interview with Christopher Lierle (Class of 1989) by Meagan Doyle

Date: 2019-06-01

Creator: Christopher Lierle

Access: Open access

Christopher “Chris” Lierle (Class of 1989) discusses adjusting to Bowdoin life from the West Coast and making close friendships despite the culture shock. He speaks about the importance of extracurricular activities during his time at Bowdoin and reminisces on his experiences with the football team and winning the Best Actor award in the One Act play competition. Lierle also reflects on not completing his Bowdoin education and the events in his life that led him to reconnect with the Bowdoin community twenty-five years later. He discusses the cherished relationships he forged during his time on campus and how they defined his time at college.


Interview with Cathy Scheiner (Class of 1979) by Emma Kellogg

Date: 2019-06-01

Creator: Cathy Scheiner

Access: Open access

Cathy Scheiner (Class of 1979) describes the culture-shock she felt when transitioning to Bowdoin from public high school. She speaks about meeting many different types of people in Hyde Hall and joining various extracurricular activities like the Outing Club, the Sailing team, and the Cross-Country Ski team. She talks about being independent from the Greek system while navigating the fraternity-dominated social landscape. Scheiner reminisces on her classes and professors, adventures around Maine with friends, and being a Biochemistry major. Also, she reflects on the discussions of the time surrounding efforts to not be just a Bowdoin student, but a member of the broader Maine community as well.


Interview with Richard Burns (Class of 1958) by Emma Kellogg

Date: 2019-08-16

Creator: Richard Burns

Access: Open access

Richard “Dick” Burns (Class of 1958) describes being “very impressed” by Bowdoin when he first visited and the busyness of his first few weeks at the College. He talks about how the social life of the school revolved around fraternities and his own experience joining Chi Psi, despite ambivalence about the Greek system. Burns reminisces about various mentors and memorable professors, including his long-standing friendship with former athletic trainer Mike Linkovich. He talks about his job washing dishes in his fraternity, Ivies Weekend, and the drinking culture of the time. Finally, he comments on his multi-generational view of Bowdoin, Brunswick, and New England, and remarks on some of the most notable ways that the College has changed.


Interview with James Pierce (Class of 1969) by Emma Kellogg

Date: 2019-05-31

Creator: James Pierce

Access: Open access

James A. “Jim” Pierce (Class of 1969) recounts his sight-unseen arrival to Bowdoin in 1965. He speaks about the fraternity system’s dominance over everything from food and lodging to social life. He describes the fraternities’ drinking culture and hazing rituals, as well as the “eccentric” nature of his own fraternity, Alpha Rho Upsilon. Pierce comments on the milieu of “rugged Christianity” he felt at Bowdoin, especially through mandatory chapel attendance. Additionally, he talks about his experiences with the Glee and Drama Clubs, Bowdoin’s academic rigor, and the prank group the Green Hornet Construction Company. Pierce also reflects on feeling the presence and impacts of the Vietnam War on campus.


Statement by Denise Altvater on November 20, 2013

Date: 2013-11-20

Creator: Denise Altvater

Access: Open access



Statement by Margaret Semple collected by Rachel George on January 16, 2015

Date: 2015-01-16

Creator: Margaret Semple

Access: Open access



Statement by Michael Augustine collected by Rachel George on November 17, 2014

Date: 2014-11-17

Creator: Michael Augustine

Access: Open access