because i heart macalester

i was asked to write a statement about the benefits my financial aid package from macalester provided. i was happy to volunteer these words from my heart:

When I first heard of Macalester, the name stuck with me for no
apparent reason other than the fact that I liked how the it rolled off
my tongue. Macalester. When I learned more about the life behind the
name, I was convinced that Macalester was the place, regardless of the
frigid winters, that I wanted to be.

I was elated--really, i squealed!--when I received my acceptance
letter and financial aid package and immediately began imagining an
enthusiastically absurd amount of possibilities. Nostalgically, I was,
of course a touch hopelessly naive. But, realistically, Macalester was
the place where one could envision and then begin to actualize such
desires. This would not have been imaginable, however, without the
financial aid I required and so gratefully received.

My family's story is a very American one: we immigrated to the United
States for what my parents hoped would be a better life. I was too
young then to object our permanent departure, nor did I fully understand the on-goings around me. What I do know now, however, is that I was then and still am, very lucky.

My experiences at Macalester have played an instrumental role in
shaping how I view the world and understanding how the world might
view me. My growing collection of shifted and sifted thoughts were
acknowledged, shared, supported and refuted. I was inspired by my
professors, friends, and classmates to question and wonder, marvel and
dissect. On some topics I fared well, others not so well. Yet even the
laughable and sometimes painfully embarrassing moments were times
where I was learning to be...me.

I'm still thinking and accepting, growing and learning. I currently
live and work in Seoul, South Korea, where I teach conversation skills
(with a mix of critical thinking skills, humor, and slang!) to
business professionals. Whenever my students ask where I went to
college, I smile broadly and say, "Macalester" twice. I think they
like how it sounds as well.