Amherst, Massachusetts

1st Semester

Through her First-Year Studies course, Health, Illness and Medicine in a Multicultural Context, Ella found a springboard for her interests. "I realized I was most passionate about the cultural and human aspects of medicine, rather than the biological," she says. "This course then led me to take follow-up courses in anthropology and in environmental and human rights."

2nd Semester

Anthropology of Latin America, which Ella describes as "one of the most eye-opening courses I’ve ever taken," led to conference work in which she examined Latina identity in the United States through the lens of adoption—based on her own family situation with an adopted Latina younger sibling.

3rd Semester

Along with language courses in German and Spanish, in her second year Ella has taken courses that explore the overlap between human and environmental issues. "I’ve developed a profound and very enthusiastic interest in environmental rights and activism," she says.

"I’ve really appreciated the flexibility Sarah Lawrence gives you to take classes in a variety of disciplines while you figure out what it is you want to focus on—instead of locking you onto one path."

4th Semester

Having created a documentary film about multicultural families, Ella looks forward to more filmmaking— this time on indigenous land rights—at the School for International Training in Bolivia next year. Before that, she will spend a semester on Sarah Lawrence’s program in Cuba. "I’m really excited about the opportunity," she says of the program, one of the few in the U.S. still operating in Cuba. "I’ll be taking courses at the University of Havana, while also doing an independent project based on Cuban agriculture and environmental policy."

Extracurricular Involvement:

Sound Technician, AV
Member, Empty Bellies
Member, Martial Arts Club (Take Kwon Do)

Sample Courses:

First-Year Studies: Health, Illness and Medicine in a Multicultural Context
Anthropology of Latin America
Green Visions and Toxic Landscapes: Community-Based Approaches
Literary Nation-Building: An Introduction to African Literatures
Making Threats: Bio-Fears, Risk and the Social Production of Anxieties