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Hannah Gold-Garvey '13 was recently accepted into Alpha Kappa Delta, an international Sociology Honor Society. |
4/11/12
Hannah Gold-Garvey
transferred to Randolph-Macon College at the beginning of her junior year. It didn’t take long before she felt at home.
“I went to Pennsylvania State University, in my home town of State College, for two years,” explains Gold-Garvey. “But I felt lost in a school with 43,000 undergraduates.
R-MC’s tight-knit community, small class sizes and beautiful campus were a welcome change.” During a
campus tour, Gold-Garvey noticed something special underfoot.
“I saw the brick walkway—hundreds of bricks engraved with the names of R-MC alumni—and I realized how much the college values each and every student. Seeing the bricks made me want to see my name among the Class of 2013.”
Gold-Garvey says that her
sociology major is a good fit because it allows her the opportunity to learn about other people and cultures.
“I’m also gaining a better understanding about myself and my place in society,” she says. “I conducted
research on racial identity and the concept of beauty in Brazilian culture, which gave me a first-hand opportunity to see how socially-constructed our world really is.”
Gold-Garvey’s research dovetailed nicely with her 2012 January Term (
J-term) trip to Brazil.
Students enrolled in two classes—Science, the Environment and Conflict in the Conquest of the Amazon, and Globalization, the Environment and Social Dynamics in Brazil—were led by
Sociology Professor Reber Dunkel and
Spanish Professor Kimberly Borchard.
“It was truly once-in-a-lifetime and gave me the chance to learn about Brazilian culture, interact with locals, visit amazing sites such as the Christ the Redeemer statue and the Amazon River, and connect with my fellow classmates on a whole new level,” says Gold-Garvey.
Gold-Garvey, a recipient of the Randolph-Macon Achievement Grant
scholarship, enjoys playing
intramural soccer in her spare time. She has also volunteered as a reader for
The Stylus, a student magazine that is published once a year and includes short stories, poems and songs written and taken by R-MC students. It also includes photos taken by R-MC students. Student-readers help decide which submissions should be included in the magazine.
After graduation, Gold-Garvey, who is minoring in
education, plans on attending graduate school.
“I want to get a master’s in elementary education,” she says. “After grad school I hope to become an elementary teacher at an inner city school, because I love children and I want to foster in them a love and appreciation for learning.”
She may be six hours from home, but Gold-Garvey doesn’t have to go far to see family. Her brother Grayson is a member of the R-MC Class of 2015.
“He heard me talk about how much I love this place,” she says. “He visited me at R-MC and he, too fell in love with Randolph-Macon!”
Click on Student Experience to read more stories about R-MC students.
J-term affords students the opportunity to travel abroad and immerse themselves in another culture. Students can also participate in an internship or take an on-campus course.