HC: Tell me a little bit about yourself. How did you hear about Bowdoin? DMC: “So I heard about Bowdoin from my older sister who was reading The Scarlet Letter when she was in high school –that’s when I first heard about it. But when I was in high school, I remember researching colleges and knowing that I wanted to go somewhere smaller and more intimate than a big research university. I stumbled upon the NESCACs and then I visited the fall of my senior year and fell in love. It was done and done.”
HC: Where are you from originally? DMC: “I was born in Honduras, but then I moved to Alaska for a long while, and then after that I moved to Texas.”
HC: Wow what a transition! What was that like? DMC: “So I was very young when I was naturalized, but we moved to Alaska for my dad’s job, but I was there until I was almost thirteen [years old]. Alaska was a lot of fun. I thought it was a great place to grow up in terms of the environment and how loving and close the people were. The community was small and everybody knew each other. When we moved to Texas, it was a shock and a bit jarring, but in the long run, it was really good to be in a larger city with more opportunities, especially educational opportunities. So it was good, it wasn’t anything absolutely awful.”
HC: What are some of the things you’re involved with on campus? DMC: “I work in the library and at admissions as a tour guide and receptionist. I especially love my admissions job because I get to see and meet all the people who are coming to the school. I have had parents during Parents Weekend tell me, “Oh! You were our tour guide, and it was fantastic to have you!” It is really nice to know that I was a part of their college application process. I am also involved in BSG and occasionally write for the Orient and the Globalist.”
HC: What are you looking forward to as BSG president next year?DMC: “I’m really excited about changing the way that the BSG communicates with the rest of the student body. I think there has been a really big gap there for a long time in terms of not only making clear what it is that BSG does internally, but also what BSG does for the students on campus, and I would communicate all the opportunities that we can give students. There are so many ways that kids can become involved with faculty, staff, and trustees, even – networking with them; and also changing the way that the college is run. I am excited to advertise better, communicate better, and make sure that we have students come into the BSG, and we also reach out to certain groups on campus periodically to make sure that we know what is happening.”
HC: Are you feeling nostalgic about your time at Bowdoin now that you’ll be a senior next year?DMC: “Yeah, I started feeling nostalgic as soon as my first year ended, just because I’ve always just been hyper aware of the passing of time. I really miss how much attention people give you freshman year. It’s incredible, but you don’t really begin to process it until your spring semester at the end of your first year. And then when you’re a sophomore, a lot of kids hit the sophomore slump –I definitely got hit by that –just because the sheer amount of attention directed at you is not as powerful as it was before. The resources are there and the people are still there willing to help you, but getting to try everything for the first time was so fun.”
HC: What’s one of your favorite memories so far at Bowdoin? DMC: “One time my friend and floor mate at the time, Tina, and I were walking around the campus and we saw Barry Mills. We had heard how friendly he was and how he was really open to people calling him “Barry” and not President Mills. So we ran up to him –actually like tackled him – and shouted “Barry! [We] would love you to come have dinner with our floor!” He was totally receptive and laughed it off. I never thought he was actually going to come, but he emailed my proctor and next week he was there. He talked to us about when he was a first year, and how different Thorne was, and stories about how his friends would drag him to parties because he was a total nerd. It was unreal to get that perspective from the President of our college. I feel like there are very few other college campuses where something like that can happen. It was nice to get to know people on that level, so immediately.”
HC: Do you have any final words for your fans?DMC: “That’s such a strange question. I guess send funds and baked goods.”