Five GFA graduates returned to campus on Tuesday, January 3, to discuss at an Upper School assembly the landscape of their college lives. “GFA definitely prepared me for college academics,” said Fred Mezidor '11, who is a freshman in a joint Brown University / Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) program. “Unlike some of my fellow students, I'm not daunted by having to write a paper.”

 

Grace Hawkins '09, a junior at the University of Vermont, said she was surprised to walk into a freshman lecture class with as many students as attended all of GFA’s Upper School. “But GFA taught me to build a relationship and rapport with my teachers, and I was able to do that even as one of 385 students in a class. My teachers still know me years later. I learned at GFA how to ask for help when I needed it, and it comes in handy in college.”

 

Being encouraged to try everything at GFA is what stuck with Alex Tarika '08, now a senior at Colorado College. “The faculty was always supportive of us trying many different activities,” Alex said. “In college, there is so much to take advantage of, and I’ve been able to work with organizations on and off-campus.”

 

Stephanie deGoeijen '09 journeyed the farthest from GFA, attending Goldsmiths, University of London. Stephanie took a gap year before deciding on an English and creative writing program at Goldsmiths. “I have friends from all over the world, not because I chose that, but because that’s just the mix where I live. I wanted out-of-the-box, and Goldsmiths is definitely on the radical side.”

 

A top runner at GFA, Tommy Ross '10 was recruited to Trinity College. After a year, however, he wanted a bigger environment and a business program, so transferred to Wake Forest in North Carolina. “If you don’t get into your dream school,” he told the students,” you can always go somewhere and change if you need to. On the other hand, it’s not so much where you go as what you do when you get there that matters.”

 

Grace threw in an added comment. “GFA is awesome,” she told the crowd. “You should appreciate it every day.”

To view more photos from GFA visit Flickr.  

 

 

Photos (top to bottom): Stephanie de Goeijen '09, Tommy Ross '10, Alex Tarika '08, Fred Mezidor '11 and Grace Hawkins '09