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Read About More Pomona People
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Even as a senior, Carey McDonald can still vividly
recall his first weeks at Pomona. “It’s hard to beat the
happiness of freshman year, when you first get here and see
how many possibilities are open to you.” he says. “It’s
great to meet all these new people.”
“The Orientation Adventure trips are phenomenal,” he adds.
“I spent four days on a 180-foot sailing ship. That was a
lot of fun.”
He remembers jumping off the mast of that tall ship into the
deep blue Pacific. “I am convinced I was at least 70 to 75
feet in the air,’’ he says. “It’s just hard to beat that
sheer excitement.”
After those first weeks, McDonald plunged into Pomona’s many
offerings: from orchestra to ballroom dance to leading the
Pomona Student Union. And this leads to his one complaint:
“I have to fight it off every semester: commitments,
commitments,”
he says. “There are so many things to do that are
worthwhile.”
One thing he has stuck with is ballroom dance. The Claremont
Colleges team are four-time national champions. “I’ve been
able to see myself get better,’’ he says. “I never did any
dance before college. Now I feel like this is something that
I’m really strong in … that I’ve earned through hard work
and dedication. That’s always a good feeling.”
He also helped put together an informal pep band called
Party Fowl to play at Sagehen sporting events “The football
players really appreciate it,’’ he says. “The fans
appreciate it. I got any e-mail from President Oxtoby after
the first few games saying, ‘I really appreciate that you
guys are out there.’”
The College’s strength, he says, lies in giving individuals
opportunities. “Pomona encourages you to think for yourself
and think, ‘what do I want to do?, what’s interesting to
me?’ and pursue that.”
Plus the professors are eager to engage. “They respond to
your e-mails,” he says. “They’re always available after
class.”
Pomona’s role as a member of the Claremont Colleges is
another advantage. “I really appreciate the consortium,”
McDonald says. “It lets you expand your social circles. You
can maintain the intimacy of the small school and the
small-class setting
and still have the breadth of a larger school.”
The bottom line, in the words of this econ major: “Pomona
offers some pretty high returns for what you put into it.” |
Pomona College is the founding member of the Claremont Colleges.