Showing 1 - 10 of 37 Items
Interview with Maura Allen (Class of 2014) and Laurel Mast (2014) by Emma Kellogg
Date: 2019-05-31
Creator: Maura Allen, Laurel Mast
Access: Open access
- Maura Allen (Class of 2014) and Laurel Mast (Class of 2014) describe the transition to Bowdoin and meeting each other on the rugby team. Mast talks about taking extra courses many semesters, participating in plays, and being an avid sports fan. Allen speaks about being a year-round athlete, a facilitator for V-Space, and living in Quinby House. The pair discuss their love for the state of Maine but acknowledge the unique challenges that come from being so far from their homes in Colorado and Oregon. Allen and Mast also reflect on the burgeoning discussions surrounding cultural appropriation and hookup culture on campus.
Interview with Richard Lustig (Class of 1974) by Meagan Doyle
Date: 2019-06-01
Creator: Richard Lustig
Access: Open access
- Richard “Rich” Lustig (Class of 1974) shares how his childhood vacations in Maine led him to Bowdoin. He speaks about the serendipitous nature of making friends and the enjoyable times he spent playing music with friends. Reminiscing on a study-away experience at St. Andrews University in Scotland, which turned into an independent study on early music, Lustig speaks about how Bowdoin allowed him to pursue a wide and varied array of passions. He describes directing a play through Masque and Gown. He also describes how he ended up joining Alpha Delta Phi, despite a general distaste for fraternity life. Additionally, Lustig reflects on the drinking culture and the lack of socioeconomic and racial diversity at the College.
Interview with Michael Jeng (Class of 1989) by Emma Kellogg
Date: 2019-06-01
Creator: Michael Jeng
Access: Open access
- Michael Jeng (Class of 1989) describes living in Winthrop Hall and building lifelong friendships with his roommates. He speaks about challenging himself to take classes outside of his Biology and Philosophy majors. He discusses various on-campus jobs, like selling ads for the Orient, and extracurricular activities such as playing squash and tennis. Jeng remembers organizing a 10k run for Bowdoin students against apartheid in support of divestment from South Africa and attending pro-choice rallies in Washington, D.C. He reminisces on volunteering for a variety of organizations, mentioning the Big Brother Little Brother Program. Jeng also reflects on learning more about himself while at Bowdoin, including exploring his sexuality, leading a balanced life, and interacting with people from all walks of life.
Interview with Frank Skornia (Class of 2004) by Meagan Doyle
Date: 2019-06-01
Creator: Frank Skornia
Access: Open access
- Frank Skornia (Class of 2004) describes how he found his way to Bowdoin, including a Class of 1968 alumnus who mentored him. He discusses pre-Orientation trips and settling in to Hyde Hall. He reminisces about his deep involvement in the technical side of theater, including working for both the Theater department and Masque and Gown, and innovating ways of utilizing the new Wish Theater. Skornia speaks about taking advantage of the wide range of courses and the support of faculty advisors and mentors, and talks about his decision to spend a year abroad at the University of York. He discusses the increasing environmentalism and political tensions of the time, and the atmosphere and feelings on campus surrounding the September 11 Terrorist Attacks.
Interview with Jenna Burton (Class of 1994) by Emma Kellogg
Date: 2019-05-31
Creator: Jenna Burton
Access: Open access
- Jenna Burton (Class of 1994) describes the process of making friends through Hyde Hall and the sailing team. She also speaks about her experience being part of the Kappa Sigma fraternity and becoming its first female president. Burton reminisces about the hurdles and triumphs of starting the women’s rugby team and discusses the camaraderie and support she found within the team. Additionally, Burton talks about her on-campus job as a Resident Assistant, her Biology major, and reflects on working with Safe Space to critically examine the College’s sexual harassment policy. Finally, she touches on some of her favorite memories, like long brunches in Thorne Dining Hall and broom hockey on the quad.
Interview with Madelena Rizzo (Class of 2014) by Meagan Doyle
Date: 2019-06-01
Creator: Madelena Rizzo
Access: Open access
- Madelena Rizzo (Class of 2014) talks about moving from Pennsylvania to Maine and the central and important role that Bowdoin’s community, including peers, faculty, and staff, played in her college experience. She describes her decision to join the Cross Country and Track teams, as well as other extracurricular activities like working with Amnesty International and babysitting for faculty and staff. Rizzo speaks about her French immersion study-away experience in Poitiers, France, and the following summer she spent back in Maine interning at Long Creek Youth Development Center. In addition, she reflects on the stress of Bowdoin academics and adjusting to life away from home.
Interview with Sally Spencer-Thomas (Class of 1989) by Emma Kellogg
Date: 2019-06-01
Creator: Sally Spencer-Thomas
Access: Open access
- Sally Spencer-Thomas (Class of 1989) describes deciding to apply to Bowdoin after feeling valued during her campus visit. Considering fraternities, she recalls both the benefits of making friends through Delta Kappa Epsilon, but also the challenges of the heavy drinking culture and problematic attitudes about sex and relationships. Spencer-Thomas comments on her study-away experience at the University of Stockholm. She reminisces on studying Art and Psychology and mentions her painting sessions in the old morgue at Adams Hall. She reflects on the support of the Bowdoin community since the death of her brother, also an alumnus. Finally, she comments on her multi-generational view of Bowdoin by sharing her impressions of the College through the eyes of her father and son.
Interview with Mara Gandal-Powers (Class of 2004) by Emma Kellogg
Date: 2019-06-01
Creator: Mara Gandal-Powers
Access: Open access
- Mara Gandal-Powers (Class of 2004) discusses adjusting to life far from her home in Maryland and learning how to structure her time at College. She mentions trying out for the tennis team and how that impacted her first year. She reminisces about spending time with friends at nearby beaches, in Brunswick and Portland, and navigating the new Social House system as part of the first class without fraternities. Talking about her major in Women’s Studies, Gandal-Powers mentions her thesis, organizing Bowdoin’s involvement in the March for Women’s Lives, and her major’s impact on her career. Additionally, she reflects on campus’s atmosphere of activism at the time, specifically in reference to the 2000 Presidential Election and the September 11 Terrorist Attacks.
Interview with Bruce Blaisdell (Class of 1969) by Emma Kellogg
Date: 2019-06-01
Creator: Bruce Blaisdell
Access: Open access
- Bruce Blaisdell (Class of 1969) talks about finding Bowdoin through the advice of a neighbor who was the daughter of Donovan Lancaster, head of the College’s Dining Services. He discusses living away from home for the first time and acclimating to the boisterousness of fraternity life in Phi Delta Psi. He talks about finding a passion for biology and learning to balance his social life with academics. He touches on his on-campus jobs, including being a steward in the fraternity, and extracurricular activities, like the swim team and the Outing Club. He reminisces about the Senior Center Program. Reflecting on the world outside of Bowdoin, Blaisdell mentions the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement and their impact on campus.
Interview with Noah Gavil (Class of 2014), Marta Misiulaityte (Class of 2014), and Shannon Grimes (Class of 2014) by Meagan Doyle
Date: 2019-05-31
Creator: Noah Gavil, Marta Misiulaityte, Shannon Grimes
Access: Open access
- Noah Gavil (Class of 2014), Marta Misiulaityte (Class of 2014), and Shannon Grimes (Class of 2014) reflect together on the way their different paths led to Bowdoin and to friendship with one another. They speak about the trials and triumphs of trying to find one’s place as well as the difficulty of learning to manage the pressures and expectations that they felt as Bowdoin students. Additionally, they comment in depth on their study-away experiences and describe the passions and interests their abroad experiences sparked in them. The three touch on a wide range of extracurricular activities, on-campus jobs, and areas of study, and reminisce fondly on the relationships they built with peers, faculty, and staff.