The ideal Bronco is someone who encompasses loyalty, determination, and leadership in a devout attempt to enrich the Santa Clara community. If there is any student at SCU who embraces what it means to be a Bronco, it is current senior, Amy Thomas. Amy is the editor-in-chief of the Santa Clara Review and a lead-by-example role model on campus. Her leadership on the Review and in the classroom is an inspiration to all.
HC: How did you get involved with the Review?
AT: I got involved in the Review completely by accident. I happened to be in a class with then-future editor-in-chief Stephen Layton, and I attended the publication party with last year’s marketing editor, Hannah Miller. They both encouraged me to apply as fiction editor and made the gig sound amazing, and the rest is history.
HC: What was that feeling like?
AT: Becoming editor-in-chief was thrilling and frightening, as all significant steps forward should be. I began as fiction editor and adored the work, so editor-in-chief was a natural ambition. I’ve loved the transition, and it’s made the Review even more of an irreplaceable part of my life at SCU.
HC: What is your favorite part about working at the Review? Moreover, what is your favorite part about the Santa Clara Community?
AT: My favorite parts about the Review and about the Santa Clara community are the same: the untapped potential for creativity in our generation is unbelievable, and both the Review and the SCU community provide innumerable ways to bring out those shining talents in a generation generally believed to be useless or lazy. There should always be a place for cultivating culture, and these both provide exceptional opportunities.
HC: If you could rewind your Santa Clara experience, what would you change or what would you want to do again?
AT: The only thing I would change about my experience is that I would take my lab science requirement significantly sooner, rather than waiting until senior year when I’ve forgotten absolutely everything scientific by studying English and art for four years.
HC: What has been the most moving experience for you at Santa Clara? What was the best advice you received from a faculty member or student?
AT: It’s difficult to pinpoint a most moving experience because so much of my time at SCU has given me memories that I consider invaluable. Despite the magnificence of some of my favorite classes in my major, I would have to say Professor Nelson’s Ethics and Gender course is my most significant experience. It changed my life in ways I never would have expected, and taught me lessons I likely never would have even noticed if they weren’t brought to my attention by the people at this university who truly care about social justice and intellectual integrity. Everyone should take the course.
HC: What do you do in your free time?
AT: My free time is limited this year, but only because I am doing so much of what I love. When I’m not in class or working on the Review, I do a lot of reading and writing. I am currently working on a Canterbury Fellowship for the university, focused on creating short fiction based on the work of Ernest Hemingway. The fellowship is really an excuse to read as much Hemingway as I want without being criticized for procrastinating.
SCU is lucky to have a leader on campus like Amy. Having personally worked with Amy in the classroom and on staff at the Review, I cannot think of a stronger or more supportive person on campus. Thanks for making SCU a better place in your four years here, Amy!