ESSAY for 2004 fall admission to Hamilton College, NY Describe the courses and activities that determined you

to choose our college.

As I listen to the professors discourse, I realize I am at Hamilton College; its the Introductory Psychology course. We are discussing motivation and I am amazed to hear the name of Doctor Freud: slips of speech, one of his most intriguing theories. At Hamilton, my fascination with psychology became an area of study. No longer do I have to squeeze reading between economics homework and Romanian assignments; I can now research it in the Daniel Burke library and benefit from professor Foels courses in Social Psychology and the Social Development class. In the wake of these thoughts, I raise my hand. My acknowledgement of the connection with Jungs theories about the collective subconscious arrests the attention of the class. Yet, nothing is as exciting as my project. I was used to cooperating with teachers from my VESP and my individual research days but I did not expect the faculty to be so involved. After accepting me in his Communication Theory class, Professor Adams helped me choose such classes as Media Form and Theory and Cross-Cultural Communication and now, thanks to his guidance, my project is flourishing. How could it not? My friends and I make a wonderful team and we thoroughly enjoy work; we have our meetings in the quad and we conduct interviews around campus. For a research that concerns diversity, the Hamilton campus is a good place to start. Later in the day, I have Roman Civilization and Classical Mythology. For me, blending myths with psychology and languages and seasoning it all with communication and rhetoric is the fulfillment of a dream. Who thought Freud, classic culture and the theory of persuasion could dwell in the same schedule? Well, they certainly did in mine, right next to the membership in the Spanish club and the International Students Association. I also fitted sports in; my backhand does stand a chance of improvement. Today, however, is volunteer day since I have an appointment with my HAVOC group. This organization offers continuity to my work with children. I am always glad to help in exchange to a smiling reward. Such activity stands at the opposite pole from my internship and campus job, but I enjoy trying my hand at many things and luckily, Hamilton supports my initiative. As pastime, there is nothing like good company. In the first semester on campus, I made quite a lot of friends. Some I met at the Classics Club gatherings, others at courses, and most I simply bumped into around the quad while preparing for class. We all like to talk over a hot coffee at the Opus and were all excited about next weekends trip to New York. Finally, we get to visit the Big Apple. The Guggenheim, the Chinatown, and of course, the Central Park, they all made it to the itinerary. This trip is just what we need before getting back to Sunday late afternoon study. Why Hamilton? Because I want to live this experience, not just enthusiastically type it. The academic excellence, the teacher-student cooperation, the diverse campus and the myriad opportunities are all strong incentives for attending Hamilton college. Armed with passion, drive and vision I am ready to take this challenge. It is my springboard to the future.