Earlham College
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Major: Global Management with a focus in Finance and Marketing
Minors: Psychology and Music double minor
Student Self Identifies as: Biracial: North African and White Straight Female
Summary
I’m in Net Impact, the International Students Coalition, I’m part of the Black Students United, and I’m a student-athlete.
Background
Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: Biracial: North African and White
Sexual Orientation: Straight
High School Experience: Private French high school in Morocco with a graduating class of about 250 students. There wasn’t necessarily a culture of going to college in the United States.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Global Management with a focus in Finance and Marketing
Minors: Psychology and Music double minor
Extracurricular Activities: I’m in Net Impact, the International Students Coalition, I’m part of the Black Students United, and I’m a student-athlete.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience? In what ways?
Being part of [my sports] team has shaped my career interests. Being part of that team and environment made me realize I want to go into the sports industry. Right now, I’m applying to a bunch of master’s in sport management programs.
Academic Experience
Can you describe the weekly coursework for your major?
For the major, we mostly have case studies and analysis, exams, and papers. The exams make up the bulk of the grade.
Is there anything you feel that your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
My department has the Center for Global Entrepreneurship that helps students find jobs and internships. We also have an executive in residence, so if we want to go to a conference he’ll find one we might be interested in and they’ll fund the conference so you don’t have to worry about it. It’s not a huge department and Earlham is really focused on the STEM fields, but the business department probably has five professors which make it more tight-knit. You’re in constant communication with your professors, and if you need something they’re open to helping you and you can even text or facetime them with questions.
How would you describe the learning environment? Is it particularly competitive or collaborative?
I think it’s collaborative. Earlham focuses on a lot of group projects, which is why I’d say it’s more collaborative and not competitive. It’s not really focused on one individual.
How accessible are your professors?
My professors are really accessible. Like I’ve said before, they’re very open when it comes to communication. They have very flexible drop-in hours so if you need anything you can send them an email or text.
What has been your favorite part of Earlham academically?
How we’re proactive in what we’re doing. They put us in groups all the time to help us generate different ideas and it lets you think outside the box. Since Earlham is a liberal arts school, it focuses on thinking outside the box. They make you run the extra mile and don’t just stick to the basics when it comes to academics. They make you think about the causes of a certain thing, or the impact it’ll have.
What has been your favorite part of Earlham academically?
How we’re proactive in what we’re doing. They put us in groups all the time to help us generate different ideas and it lets you think outside the box. Since Earlham is a liberal arts school, it focuses on thinking outside the box. They make you run the extra mile and don’t just stick to the basics when it comes to academics. They make you think about the causes of a certain thing, or the impact it’ll have.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I wanted to be a business major or something within that field. I took economics and social studies classes in high school and that showed me what business is really about. The only business major at Earlham is a Global Management, which is the track I followed. They made the concentrations more flexible, so that makes me know I was going to major in that because I could focus on things I really like within the business field.
Reasons to Attend
1) It helped me grow as a person. Before coming I was more of an introvert, but it’s helped me make some meaningful connections.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) The location and the lack of things to do sometimes.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on campus?
Freshman: Barrett Hall with one roommate
Senior: Off-campus Interfaith Themed House with five people
How was transitioning from Morocco to Richmond, Indiana?
There wasn’t much of a culture shock. I was expecting things to go the way they did. Earlham is pretty inclusive of people with different nationalities and ethnicities. I wouldn’t say the same for Richmond itself though, which is why we say there’s an Earlham bubble that we’re trying to break by collaborating with people from the community.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
The campus is pretty safe. There are some apartments back by the football fields far from campus called Campus Village. Lately, there have been some safety issues with that part of the residence. Public safety makes sure to address it on time and lets us know what we need to do. They tell us to have a flashlight because there are almost no lights, which makes it hard for people to see where they’re going.
Social Opportunities
What kind of nightlife or weekend activities do you like to participate in?
Usually, the Student Activities Board has events on the weekends and throughout the year. They take us bowling or roller skating, and sometimes there’s a movie night. Other than that, there are house parties since we don’t have Greek life. A house will register that party through the school for safety purposes.
What have been some of your favorite times at Earlham?
There’s an international festival they do once a year. You see people of different cultures and they bring exhibits from their respective countries, which could be clothing or snacks. It’s interesting to see where everybody comes from. Even if they’re first-generation Americans, they’re still in touch with their cultures. During the spring, when the weather gets warm we have a [Harumatsuri, which is our] spring fest where they bring in performing artists. We set up a stage and they perform while there are different activities to do around. I like this one because it makes you feel disconnected from your academic life.
How happy are you with the weekend activities or nightlife at Earlham? Is there anything you would change if you could?
Sometimes there isn’t much during the weekend and people are busy studying. Besides house parties, there isn’t much going on. I wish Richmond was more of a college town with more attractions. It’s sort of a ghost town.
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
I met some of them during orientation my freshman year. Since then, we’ve stayed super close. I haven’t stayed super close to all of them because you grow apart as the years go by. We also lived in the same dorm during my freshman year which helped. Recently, my closest ones I knew through common friends and branching out.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Earlham?
Most of the events are led by student organizations or by the Student Activities Board. We have convocations where we bring in a guest speaker. People get together and listen. Sometimes instead of a guest speaker, we’ll have concerts that help with the social scene.
To what extent do people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
Earlham is very liberal. We have people from different sexual orientations and genders. All of them feel included at Earlham. It’s very common to see diverse groups of friends around campus. [The undergraduate population is 7% Black, 49% White, 3% Asian, and 8% Hispanic.]
Were there parts of Earlham, or American college as a whole, that surprised you?
People being open about their sexual orientation isn’t something you’d necessarily see in Morocco or in any African country. Coming here and seeing people be extremely vocal about their sexual orientations and identity, in general, and the way they dress, was surprising to me in a good way.
How do you like the size of Earlham in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How has it impacted your experience? [Earlham has about 1,000 undergraduates.]
I like the size. I wanted to go to a smaller school because I didn’t want to be a number, I wanted to be a name. When my professors talk to me, I wanted them to remember me, as opposed to just being another student.
Careers
Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
I work at the Center for Global and Career Education, which is basically the career center. We always have these alumni events where we get them to come on campus for a networking event. I had to interview some alumni for my job, but we ended up talking about things that were completely different from what I was supposed to talk about. They helped connect me to other people in bigger sports organizations that reached out to. They gave me advice on my career and would help me if I needed them.
What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
I used them to find internships, to review my stuff for graduate school, and they help with finding jobs. I recently used it because I want to participate in an abroad program called EPIC, which is a funded opportunity to travel somewhere during your four years. I’m going to Germany after graduation, but this is the last year they’re doing it for seniors after you graduate.
Have you learned any computer programs or computer languages that will be helpful professionally?
As a Global Management major with a focus in Finance, I work a lot with Excel. Since I’m a Psychology minor, I used SPSS for research. For my Business IT class, our assignment was to pick a software and to keep a diary of how we use the software. We used a lot of consumer relationship management software.