From a Wheaton Graduate
Posted on October 10, 2012
Dear Prospective Wheaton Parents,
As a recent Wheaton College graduate, I want to share with you just a few of the reasons why I recommend Wheaton for your son or daughter.
It wasn’t that long ago when I was weighing the important decision facing you and your student. So I understand the complexity and heft of choosing a college. If I could, I’d like to cut through the pamphlets and pitches and share three reasons why Wheaton continues to mean so much to me.
First, Wheaton is an environment of unparalleled nurturing. During the second week of classes my freshman year, my political science professor invited me into his office to pique my interest about upcoming scholarship opportunities. Another professor arranged an interview for me in the Government Relations Department of Sylvania, Inc. He drove two hours to attend my interview so he could, in his words, “Make sure they give [me] important work.” The fall of my junior year, the Filene Center notified me about an internship opportunity at a local nonprofit organization. I won this spot and worked at that very nonprofit the year after I graduated as its Director of Public Policy.
It was because of the attention of staff and faculty that I grew as a student and as a person.
The college also specializes in offering opportunities. Wheaton students find themselves engaged in diverse pursuits all at once. Throughout my Wheaton career, I participated in student government, three singing groups, three musicals, a drama production, the campus newspaper, and a campus job – all enriching experiences. But beyond their immediate value, they instilled in me both management skills and self-confidence, and showed me that varied and balanced living is a recipe for constant growth and authentic happiness. Internalizing this lesson has enabled me to multi-task now, from taking classes at law school and serving on its student government to working on Wheaton’s Alumnae/i Board of Directors. Being able to simultaneously give yourself to demanding activities is an invaluable skill.
Finally, Wheaton offers students a quality liberal arts education. Liberal arts training encourages mental agility, comfort with ambiguity, and, most importantly, a quest to learn. The liberal arts emphasize skills that have limitless applicability, imbuing in students a commitment to life-long learning and an ability to engage in diverse pursuits.
In a tough economy, students with a liberal arts education have an invaluable advantage: they can take a job outside their comfort zone or say ‘yes’ to an unexpected opportunity and feel confident that their ability to learn, adapt, and think critically will carry the day. And so, as you and your child weigh college options, I hope you will take a long, hard look at Wheaton. I think you’ll find that a Wheaton education is a smart investment for the next four years and beyond.
In order to help you with the college search process, please visit Wheaton’s Admission website which was specifically designed to help prospective students’ parents such as yourselves.
Sincerely,
Austin Simko ’09
Boston College Law School ’13
