Campus Celebrity Thais Calderon ’17 (Editor’s Pick)

Meet Thais Calderon ’17 a Pre-Med major with a passion for soccer, an amazing dancer and an interest in social science.  With our recent nomination system, the editor’s have not had the time to choose our own Campus Celebrity, so here is the Editor’s Pick additon of Campus Celeb.  Feel free to nominate your own here.

Tell me about where are you from:

Originally I was born in Peru and I lived there till I was about 4 and then my family and I came to the U.S and I’ve lived in Maryland ever since

How does the weather at Amherst compare to the weather back home?:

Maryland gets all 4 seasons but Amherst is definitely much colder and the amount of snow we get here is probably twice as much. It took some getting use to at first for sure.

Why did you choose to attend Amherst?:

I chose to attend Amherst because of DIVOH weekend. I came to the school and everyone was so welcoming. I really liked seeing how small the classes were and how that allowed for students to really get to know their professors (plus all the catered food was great). I met Elaine and Haram who tried to convince me to chose Amherst over my other choices. I basically decided I was going to Amherst while I was at a stop light in my car. I was waiting to make a left turn and I turned to my mom and said, “I’m going to Amherst.” It was very random haha.

What are you interested in both academically and leisurely?:

Academically, I’m interested in Psychology and Spanish ( which are both my majors ). I prefer social science because it centers around people and it explains why we act in certain ways, which I think is pretty cool. Leisurely, I’m into soccer and dance. I play woman’s club soccer here at Amherst and I’m part of Amherst Dance and DASAC. I was a competitive dancer before coming to Amherst so I was really excited to find about clubs that shared my similar interests. :)

What are you passionate about the most?:

I grew up in soccer centralized household, my father has been a coach for 15 years now and my brother played since he was 3. I grew up next to the turf and watching the game, although I only played competitively for a couple years I have always been passionate about soccer. There’s nothing like watching a well-played game or seeing the children you’ve helped coach become phenomenal players.

What are your plans for the rest of your time at Amherst and beyond:

For the rest of my time at Amherst I plan to go abroad in the spring to either Barcelona or Madrid. I’ve heard amazing things about both places so it’ll be hard to chose but I’m very excited to have the opportunity to get to travel and expose myself to different cultures while I am abroad. Afterwards, I plan to finish both majors and my pre-med track so that I can apply to medical school the year after I graduate. I’ve always wanted to be a doctor and my opportunities to research and participate in clinical care only confirmed my desire to work in Pediatric care.

If you could make one change to the world, playful or serious, what would it be?:

If I could make one change I would make health care accessible to everyone. A lot of the work I’ve done has been with communities where SES or legal status has hindered adults and children from getting the basic care they need in order to take care of themselves. Giving them access to the basic primary care everyone should be entitled to made a huge difference in their lives and my own.

What’s something you’ve always wanted to say but never got the chance to say it?:

I will just say something I think everyone should hear: I really appreciate all the amherst staff! They work really hard and should get thanked more often.

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