Elena
Hometown: San Francisco, California
Major: Sociology
Why Wheaton?
There's so much variety of classes here. Being at a liberal arts college has allowed me to branch out-from economics to sociology and political science to history. Sometimes it's hard to choose what to take.
About classes and professors...
Classes have been very challenging; they push you. Professors want to help you, as long as you're willing to put in the time and effort. I had this one professor whom I'd meet with once a week to go over things, and now we're on this friend level. Some will give you their home phone numbers.
An international internship
I went to Australia and did an internship with a company called The Inspire Foundation. They create programs to help Australian youth deal with everyday issues. They e-mailed me and said, "We are starting a company in the States, and we wanted to make sure you knew about it." Their head office will probably be San Francisco, which is great. Our connection might continue.
About friends and roommates
I live with four girls; we all lived on the same floor freshman year. We all started out together and, in the end, we are still together. I have friends here that will do anything for me.
Being involved in student government...
Sophomore year I became a senator in student government. I absolutely love it. At Wheaton, students have a lot of power. We have the ability to allocate funds to different clubs and organizations. A lot of schools don't do that. I wanted students to know what was going on in the school, what we could do to change it and to get them active in the student body. Student opinions are heard on campus; we are given a voice.