Looking back upon the person I was when coming to Reed three years ago is like looking through an opaque window. I still see the frame and some features from my old self in who I am now, but the greater part of who I am rests on this side of the mirror, having been tempered by my experiences at Reed. I suppose that my reasons for coming to Reed, after examination and time, still hold up: I desired a small school with an intimate academic setting, a liberal and open culture to present numerous facets of the world, and a community of mostly-nice and genuine individuals who would be friendly. I did not want to be another face in the crowd at a large state school, and I wanted to experience the traditional collegiate rites of passage with members of the Reed community. I could state that I have lost love, found love, done drugs, studied hard, been arrested, and snuck onto a golf course at night, but any student at any college could very well have done the same. Empirically, Reed’s commitment to making critical thinkers and writers out of its students separates it from other academic institutions. Although many other institutions will train their students to write and think, Reed has bombarded my mind with reading, writing, and thought, helping me realize a level of intellectual self-awareness that I never thought possible. Not only has Reed further kindled my desire for learning, education, and critical thought, but it has inspired me to aspire to post-graduate research in literature; I simply have become an insatiable, knowledge-seeking beast—as are most students here. We push ourselves hard because we choose to, just as we go here because we want to. Any Reedie who wishes to be somewhere else has already left for that place. People stay at Reed and endure its academic rigors because they truly love and are committed to what the college has
to offer.
Essentially, most students believe in Reed. Although feeling disenchanted with their institution of higher education at times, most Reedies accept their school’s shortcomings for what they are, and accept that they can not see themselves anywhere else. Reed is not just a college; it is an academic, personal, and social experience, and Reedies respect and cherish it.
Most Recent Student Author
College Prowler guides are in the hands of students throughout the entire process. Because you can't make student-written guides without the students, we have students at each campus who write, edit, and survey their peers for every guide that we publish. Thanks to our most recent student author at Reed
Name: Ben DuPree
Hometown: Los Angeles, Calif.
Major: English
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