Hey everyone! We thought we’d give all our readers and prospective students a little introduction! We encourage you to come to campus to take a tour from one (or two!) of us. We’ll be here all summer. We’ll also be doing the majority of the blogging on Swatstruck. See you around!
Canaan Breiss
Year: Rising Senior (2016)…..yikes.
Location of origin: North Egremont, MA, population approx. 500
Areas of study: Special major in Linguistics & Languages with concentrations in Ancient Greek and Biblical Hebrew, with minors in Greek and Religion.
Other fun stuff I do: I’m involved with SQU (Swarthmore Queer Union), the largest queer/trans group on campus; I sing in the Chorus and Chamber Choir; and I run the Magic: the Gathering club on campus.
One interesting fact: In 4th grade I performed a poem in a made-up language for a talent show, without a hint of irony.
Mindy Cheng
(Call me Min)
Year: 2018 (I’m a rising sophomore)
Location of origin: Timonium/Parkton, Baltimore County, Maryland, U.S.A.
Areas of study: Prospective double major in Math & Educational Studies, and Economics. Also interested in Sociology, but probably won’t put it on my degree.
Extracurriculars/Hobbies: Chorus, Chamber Choir, Music 48 (subsidized music lessons for academic credit), Mixed Company (Swarthmore’s oldest co-ed a cappella group), Varsity Women’s Badminton, Phoenix photographer, Terpsichore (student-choreographed and student-danced modern/contemporary/lyrical/jazz/experimental dance group).
One interesting fact: I have a somewhat eidetic memory and can quote most scenes in Parks & Recreation and Scrubs with perfect timing. The memory unfortunately does not hold for remembering test material, however.
Zac Arestad
Year: 2017
Location of origin: Honolulu, HI/Waynesboro, PA
Areas of study: Anthropology, Latin American & Latino Studies
Extracurriculars/Hobbies: Music director of Swarthmore’s oldest & only all-male a cappella group Sixteen Feet, Steward of Swarthmore Progressive Christians, former intern (and present-day fanboy) of Swarthmore Interfaith
One interesting fact: Nearly got married last summer, & also I thought I was more interesting than having only one interesting fact but I guess that’s not true.
Kat Galvis Rodríguez
Year: 2017 (rising Junior)
Location of origin: Pereira, Colombia/ Elizabeth, NJ
Areas of study: Sociology/Anthropology and Political Science
Extracurriculars/Hobbies: Intercultural Center Intern, Multicultural Recruitment Intern, ENLACE (Latinx student group on campus), Student Government Organization (SGO), CUPSI Slam Poetry Team, OASIS (Poetry and Spoken Word Collective), SOLIS (Swarthmore Organization of Low Income Students), SwatTeam Party Associates, Diversity Peer Advisor (DPA), kickboxing, Intercultural Center and Black Cultural Center Coalition, Richard Rubin Scholar, African Dance (for academic credit).
One interesting fact: I’ve taken a nap in every building on campus. I’m a professional public napper who has lost all sense of shame.
Rachel Winchester
Year: 2017
Location of origin: Easton, PA/Allentown, PA
Areas of study: Art History and Interpretation Theory, Pre-Law
Extracurriculars/Hobbies: Percussionist in orchestra, Private guitar lessons (for academic credit), Guitarist in Los Parangaricutirimicuaros (Swarthmore’s Mariachi Band), tutor and mentor for Chester high schools’ students as part of the Blueprints Program at Swarthmore’s Black Cultural Center, member of SASS (Swarthmore’s African-American Student Society)
One interesting fact: Been to over 20 concerts in Philadelphia.
John Larkin
Year: 2017 (rising Junior)
Location of origin: Cincinnati, OH
Areas of study: Engineering and Chemistry
Extracurriculars/Hobbies: was a Math Tutor, plays for the Men’s Varsity tennis team (captain as a Sophomore), stringer for the Men’s Varsity Tennis team, Office of Student Engagement Intern, Tour Guide, Orientation Committee Co-Director, Alumni Weekend Student Liaison, climbing
One interesting fact: I was lucky enough to spend three weeks in Africa and one of those weeks was spent climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.