2024-25 Counselor Newsletter by haverfordedu

2024-25

COUNSELOR

Application Deadlines

Early Decision: Nov. 15

Early Decision II: Jan. 5

Regular Decision: Jan. 10

FROM THE DEAN

JESS LORD, VICE PRESIDENT & DEAN OF ADMISSION AND FINANCIAL AID

Dear Friends,

We hope your school year has gotten off to a great start. There is nothing quite like the energy that students bring to campus when they arrive, and we are enjoying the ways that the Class of 2028 is already reshaping and revitalizing the Haverford community. And of course all of us in Admission are now out on the road meeting potential members of the Class of 2029!

It goes without saying that this past year was a challenging one. We did our best to navigate the implications of the Supreme Court ruling on admission, ensuring that we are in compliance with the law while also upholding our commitment to building a diverse student community. We are so proud of the Class of 2028 and the myriad ways this group of students reflect Haverford's mission and values. And of course we worked hard to navigate the challenges of the FAFSA debacle, supporting students and families as they tried to manage what was, frankly, a deeply unfair hurdle in their college process. We have never been more grateful for your colleagueship, as we collaborate to keep students at the center of this process.

I hope this newsletter offers a helpful way to get a sense of what is going on at Haverford these days. Thank you for your efforts to get to know us and to connect students with Haverford who you see thriving as members of our community. As always, we look forward to working with you and wish you all the best for a fantastic year!

All the best, Jess

12.4

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“Through the institute, our students will be provided with rigorous, interdisciplinary opportunities as they prepare for lives of integrity, ambition, and purpose.”

WENDY

RAYMOND, PRESIDENT OF THE COLLEGE

Transformative $25 Million Gift From Michael B. Kim ’85 to Establish Haverford’s Institute for Ethical Inquiry and Leadership

For generations of Fords, whose first official act upon matriculation is to pledge allegiance to the Honor Code, 'doing the right thing' is more than a guiding principle of campus life and work. It becomes a lifelong commitment to the betterment of community by considering how our actions as individuals impact others.

Such concern — captured so well by the distinctly Haverfordian phrase 'trust, concern, and respect' — has inspired Michael B. Kim '85 P’17 to give the College $25 million to establish and support Haverford's new Institute for Ethical Inquiry and Leadership.

“Ethical inquiry is at the core of a Haverford education, and leadership without ethics is a body without a soul,” says Michael Kim. “The new Institute, with its interdisciplinary approach and international engagement, will pioneer the way we think about ethics and practice ethics-based leadership in the global community.”

A Haverford education wrestles with critical ethical questions in the classroom, laboratory, studio, and field, encouraging students to steep themselves in ethical inquiry, and to seek justice and right relationship in all of their endeavors. Cultivating a quality of mind, heart, and practice, the Institute will offer an innovative residential liberal arts experience centered on ethics in action. At the heart of the Institute’s work is a cross-disciplinary and practice-based approach that understands ethical impact and global engagement as crucial to the work of the liberal arts. Its unique interdisciplinary context will add depth, breadth, and dimension to the College’s current educational model.

Michael Kim’s foundational gift will catalyze a major fundraising effort to realize the full vision of this new collegewide initiative. Highlights will include:

• A new Ethical Inquiry and Leadership sequence within the curriculum, led by the faculty

• Endowed professorships across the liberal arts to engage in curricular and programming foci of the Ethical Inquiry and Leadership Institute

• Endowed staffing and programming support to engage community leaders and partners in year-round opportunities

• A new building that will have flexible, communal spaces for teaching, meeting, research, and active projects, in support of our emerging comprehensive campus plan

“This transformative gift and the Institute it will create clearly articulate Haverford’s enduring commitment to an ethically centered liberal arts education," says Haverford President Wendy Raymond. "Through the institute, our students will be provided with rigorous, interdisciplinary opportunities as they prepare for lives of integrity, ambition, and purpose. I am extraordinarily grateful for Michael’s incredible leadership and support of the College.”

The Institute is a cornerstone of Haverford 2030, our strategic plan that calls for enlivened pathways through liberal arts education and career development opportunities, new modes of experiential learning, and support for areas of learning that will situate students in the world as ethical thinkers and leaders.

Long involved with his alma mater as a volunteer, Kim served on its Board of Managers from 2005-17. Philanthropically, he stepped up during the College's most recent fundraising campaign and built one of the 200-acre campus' newest dorms, naming it for his father, Ki Yong Kim. With his novel published and business well established, Kim has renewed his commitment of service to Haverford and recently returned to the College's Board of Managers. He will become its chair on July 1.

“I look forward to working, with Wendy Raymond and the College leadership, to advance our central mission of academic excellence and to support our special, values-based community.”

In April, we hosted our most successful Open Campus Day to date. The annual event, which brings admitted students to campus to get a taste of what Haverford has to offer, welcomed 750 potential Fords and their families for a weekend of tours, panels, an academic fair in Alumni Fieldhouse, and much more. Current students clad in bright red "Welcome, Friends" T-shirts, were also on board to answer questions about the academic and social life at the College.

Class of 2028 Admitted Students

7,341

Gifts Totaling $7 Million in Support of Entrepreneurship at Haverford

A new initiative supported by Bill Harris '49, Jim Kinsella '82, and Bob McNeal formalizes the College's approach to nurturing Fords' entrepreneurial spirit.

Many students choose Haverford for its focus on the ethical application of knowledge. As a result, generations of Ford entrepreneurs have applied their education to address pressing social and market needs. Indeed, Forbes ranks Haverford among its "Most Entrepreneurial Colleges."

Such success has come with only limited curricular structures that teach students how to identify and nurture their entrepreneurial ideas and provide insight into bringing them to the public.

Alums Bill Harris '49 and Jim Kinsella '82, together with Kinsella's partner in business and life, Bob McNeal, recognized this gap and have stepped in to bridge it. Thanks to their generous pledges, which together total $7 million, Haverford will create and support a new multidisciplinary initiative

in entrepreneurship. Its projected initial cost of $12 million includes endowment for tenure-line faculty and support for ongoing programs.

A renowned surgeon and longtime Harvard medical school professor, Harris pioneered many key developments of the modern total hip. But he had no company to manufacture and then bring his solutions to patients, either locally or worldwide. Thus, he was forced to become what he calls an "accidental entrepreneur" in order to recognize his dreams. In an effort to bring this important capacity into the curriculum at Haverford, he reached out to Jim Kinsella '82 and Kinsella’s husband Bob McNeal, who had helped launch the Haverford Innovation Program (HIP) in 2017 to provide resources for students with entrepreneurial ideas.

Harris, who with his wife, Nan BMC '52, spearheaded the Environmental Studies department within the Bi-Co, envisioned a similar initiative for entrepreneurialism.

"To distinguish entrepreneurship from simply an isolated brilliant idea, one must create a product and deliver it to the people who need it. Over my lifetime I have seen many great ideas become a reality when people are willing to take the risks to implement them in the world," says Harris.

"After 80 years of deep commitment to Haverford since I first set foot on this campus as a student, Nan and I are delighted to be able to fund this initiative which encourages all students to continue to innovate forward and ensure the College thrives well beyond the next 80 years."

Something to Declare

In 2016, Kevin Liao ’18 marched into the registrar’s office to loudly declare his major. Little did he know, his actions would start a new tradition at Haverford.

As he prepared to formalize his choice, his friends at other liberal arts colleges reported much more pomp and circumstance surrounding that important moment. Many, he says, had fair-style setups and other celebrations where students are given gifts or a small bottle of something bubbly to mark the occasion.

“I had the idea that Haverford would do the same thing,” Liao recalls. “But when it actually came time to declare my major, I found the process deeply unsatisfying. You just showed up to the registrar’s office, filled out a form, and that was it.”

After watching President Obama’s January 2016 State of the Union address, Liao formulated a plan. He says he found inspiration in the sergeant-at-arms’ booming, authoritative announcement of the president’s entrance and landed on a way to upend the practical nature of Haverford’s declaration process.

A JOURNEY OF RECONCILIATION

On a spring break trip organized by Haverford’s Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Access division, students, staff, and faculty got an in-depth look at the Civil Rights Trail, and a glimpse into the country’s fractured history.

In the heart of the American South, a small group of Haverford students, faculty, and staff embarked on an immersive journey along the Civil Rights Trail. The trip, envisioned by Haverford’s Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) division as an annual spring break undertaking, illuminated the history of America’s marginalized people and fostered a deeper understanding of the nation’s complex past.

The group immersed themselves in some of the most important civil rights sites across Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee. From Martin Luther King Jr.’s birth home in Atlanta to the emotionally charged National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Ala., each leg of their journey offered a poignant reminder of the struggles and resilience that continue to shape American society.

Participants were led through an itinerary curated by trip leader Assistant Vice President for Institutional Equity and Access Sayeeda Rashid, which carefully balanced educational rigor with moments of bonding and respite. The trip’s highlights included visits to landmarks like the Edmund Pettus Bridge and the National Civil Rights Museum, where the impacts of past marches and protests continue to reverberate.

Haverford’s photographer, Patrick Montero, accompanied the group on its trip. His photographs provide a visual narrative of the places they visited and the stories they uncovered.

Distance Learning

Despite 7,000 miles, the vast Atlantic Ocean, a sea, and a gulf separating them, Haverford faculty and students have been collaborating with counterparts at the American University of Sharjah (AUS) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the past two years. Using technologies like Zoom to bridge the distance, the virtual exchange, funded by a Stevens Initiative grant, has allowed both contingents to grapple with issues like the implementation of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and human rights at home and abroad.

Over spring break, students, faculty, and staff built upon these virtual relationships through a travel experience funded by The Robert W. 1965 and Vivian S. Toan Fund for Engagement with Humanitarian and Middle East Issues. A delegation of 10 Haverford students, led by Executive Director of the Center for Peace and Global Citizenship (CPGC) Eric Hartman and Assistant Professor of Economics Shannon Mudd, packed their bags for a flight to Dubai.

Across their seven-day whirlwind tour of the elective monarchy, they visited their peers at AUS and toured innovative NGOs, tech-forward companies, and numerous important cultural sites, like the House of Wisdom, a beautiful library modeled on the 8th-century library of the same name in Baghdad.

TEDx Returns to Haverford and Fills VCAM to Capacity

It’s not often you’ll hear college students proclaim their love of public speaking, but that’s exactly how Derek Zhang ’26 feels about a prospect that fills most people with dread.

Earlier this fall, Zhang’s affinity for speaking in front of a crowd and the cross-disciplinary exchange of ideas that courses through Haverford’s educational mission prompted him to seek out a platform to exercise both of those interests. He found one in TEDx, the smaller, community-focused program of TED, the nonprofit devoted to “ideas worth spreading” best known for its engaging TED Talks.

RESOURCES AND PROGRAMS FOR DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION AT HAVERFORD COLLEGE

CHESICK SCHOLARS

The John P. Chesick Scholars program is a four-year academic leadership and mentoring program for Haverford students from backgrounds that are under-represented in academia. Typically, Chesick Scholars are either first-generation college students or students from low-income backgrounds.

HAVE-A-LOOK

Have-A-Look (HAL), is Haverford's fall fly-in program designed for students with lived experiences that have been historically underrepresented in higher education that offers the opportunity to become acquainted with the academic and social opportunities at Haverford.

FLY-IN SQUIRRELS

Fly-In Squirrels (FIS) is Haverford's spring fly-in program for admitted students from historically underrepresented backgrounds in higher education. FIS is designed to deepen our commitment to diversity, inclusivity, and accessibility and showcase the impact of these values in our community.

JOSÉ PADÍN SCHOLARSHIP

The José Padín Scholarship recognizes students of demonstrated intellectual and personal achievements.

We will select two students in Haverford’s Class of 2029 as José Padín Scholars; each student will receive a need-based, no-loan financial aid package and an annual scholarship that replaces the work study and summer earnings expectations included in Haverford´s traditional financial aid package. Please note that in order to receive the scholarship, you must also apply and qualify for need-based financial aid. In following the legacy of José Padín, we hope that our scholars will graduate from Haverford to be future change agents and work to benefit Puerto Rico.

QUESTBRIDGE

Haverford has been a partner with QuestBridge since 2008, which helps match accomplished low-income students with the College. QuestBridge scholars develop a strong network and receive support and mentorship throughout their four years at Haverford.

FINANCIAL AID

WE MEET 100% OF DEMONSTRATED NEED

Haverford will meet the full demonstrated need of all admitted students who are determined to be eligible according to the College's formula and procedures.

WE PROVIDE SUPPORT BEYOND FINANCIAL AID

Sometimes expenses occur in the regular flow of a student’s life that fall outside the regulated parameters of financial aid. Haverford’s LIFTFAR program aims to help fill these gaps for costs such as travel, internships, emergency medical expenses, and more. Funding is allocated on a case-by-case basis, and financial need is a consideration.

Where They’re Headed CLASS OF 2024

1. An economics and mathematics major with a minor in philosophy, BENJAMIN GRAHAM is a Research Assistant at the Brookings Institution Center on Health Policy, under its Economics Studies program.

2. Neuroscience major ELENA BIEN began a two-year pre-doctoral fellowship at Emory University’s School of Medicine. Her fellowship is in educational sciences, and she will be working at the Marcus Autism Center.

3. History major and Bryn Mawr museum studies minor THEO SCHEFER is interning with the Collections and Exhibitions team at

the South Street Seaport Museum in New York.

4. Computer science major with, JUNO BARTSCH heads to Virginia Tech for a Ph.D. focused on supporting neurodivergent students in K-12 computer science education.

5. Psychology major and neuroscience minor ZHONGYIN (MAGGIE) ZHANG'S journey through college was marked by a profound shift in focus from

For more on the senior thesis projects and career plans of the Class of 2024, visit: hav.to/wth

linguistics to animal behavior and cognition. Zhang says that shift was catalyzed by her experiences and academic pursuits at Haverford and is leading her next journey to Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) for its animal behavior and welfare programs.

6. LUCAS WINKLER, who majored in history, is beginning his career as an underwriting analyst for Walker & Dunlop, a national real estate finance and advisory services firm in Boston. Winkler works with Walker & Dunlop’s underwriters to originate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac multifamily real estate loans.

Seun Eisape '24 is Haverford’s First-Ever GEM Fellow

Eisape will pursue a PhD at the University of California Berkeley to explore the potential of brain-computer interfaces and natural language processing.

Since their broad adoption, computers and artificial intelligence have made humans’ lives easier and more efficient. Beginning this fall, when he begins his PhD studies at the University of California, Berkeley, Seun Eisape ’24 will explore how they can also better the lives of those living with serious neurological conditions.

He’ll be aided on his journey by a fellowship from the National GEM Consortium, which seeks to bolster the participation of primarily underrepresented people at the master’s and doctoral levels in engineering and science. According to the College’s and GEM’s records, Eisape is the first Ford to receive the honor. The program also paired Eisape with an employer sponsor, the Human Language Technology Center at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where he’s working until moving to California in mid-August.

Upon completing his program at Berkeley, Eisape says he hopes to either become a professor or start his own company focused on brain-computer interfaces (BCI), which are direct connections between the human brain and technology that can decode and stimulate neural activity. Scientists believe they hold the power to control prosthetics, treat significant neurological disorders, or even enhance human capabilities, leading to propulsive research in recent years. Perhaps the most headline-generating manifestation is Elon Musk’s Neuralink, which is currently seeking people living with quadriplegia to test its implant-based interface through a clinical trial.

“Say someone has aphasia and they are no longer able to speak. That’s something you can have from birth or something you develop later in life,” Eisape says. “But if you can decode their brainwaves into speech, you invariably give them the availability to speak.”

Eisape was first introduced to the world of computer science while a student at an underserved high school in Newark, New Jersey. His older brother told him it was a compelling subject because all students were of equal standing in what was, for them, a novel subject. That wasn’t the case when he arrived at Haverford, Eisape says.

“In my classes, I encountered students who had been coding for years. Catching up with their abilities was a challenge — especially as I had significantly fewer resources than other students,” Eisape, who worked as many as four jobs at a time to support himself during his time at Haverford, says. “However, this taught me to focus on developing my own urgency and cultivating my own motivation.”

That motivation is evident in Eisape’s pursuit of summer opportunities during his time at Haverford. During the summer following his first year, he worked at Boston College’s Language Learning Lab, where he developed a new method to build a dataset of more than a million nouns in eighty languages to discover concepts permeating human language. He also worked as a software engineer for ANGI, formerly Angie’s List, and was a data scientist for the Ask Media Group, which runs ask.com. He regularly traveled between Ask’s offices in Manhattan and Swarthmore College, where he worked in multiple computational cognitive science labs.

Eisape admits that his initial interest in computer science was due to its potential to provide a comfortable living. But his studies with advisor and Associate Professor of Computer Science Alvin Grissom II were marked by a freedom to explore, and in time Eisape realized that his interests in the field were driven by more than financial compensation.

“At first, it wasn't the best reason to get out of bed every day,” Eisape says. “But then I discovered this really interesting stuff, like using machine learning and AI to give people the ability to speak from their brain. Now I don't understand how it’s not everyone's interest.”

Haverford 2030

BETTER LEARNING, BROADER IMPACT

This is a time for movement and for movements.

It is a moment to be visionary and unflinching, and to translate the work of our mission and values through bold expression.

Haverford 2030 positions the College to expand its impact and reputation in a world ready for agile minds and active doers.

CONTACTS

DIRECTOR OF ADMISSION

Kathleen Abels ’09 Asia (India, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam), CA (San Francisco, Marin, and Alameda Counties), CO, NY (Manhattan), OR, WA kabels@haverford.edu

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF ADMISSION

Neil Gogno DE, Home School, MA, ME, NH, PA (Bucks, Delaware Counties, Lehigh Valley and Northern PA), RI, TN, VT ngogno@haverford.edu

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF ADMISSION & ACCESS AND DIVERSITY INITIATIVES

Jerome Griffin DC, GA, HI, MD (Not including Baltimore), NC, PA (excluding the greater Philadelphia metropolitan area, Lehigh Valley, Allegheny County, and Northeastern PA), PA (Philadelphia County), SC jgriffin2@haverford.edu

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF ADMISSION

Rafael Jovel ’22 AZ, CA (Northern, excluding San Francisco, Marin, and Alameda Counties), CA (San Diego), FL, NM, NV, NY (Bronx, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Queens), rjovel@haverford.edu

VP & DEAN OF ADMISSION AND FINANCIAL AID

Jess H. Lord Europe jlord@haverford.edu

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF ADMISSION

Lindsay Matias NJ (Northern), NY (Long Island, Rockland and Westchester Counties), PA (Allegheny County), TX, VA lmatias1@haverford.edu

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF ADMISSION AND COORDINATOR OF INTERNATIONAL ADMISSION

Juan Ramirez Africa, Americas, Asia (excluding India, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam), Australia/Oceania, NJ (Central and Southern), Puerto Rico jramirez1@haverford.edu

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF ADMISSION

Nadia Rosales

AK, CA (Los Angeles and Central Coast), IA, ID, IN, KS, MD (Baltimore area), MT, ND, NE, NY (Upstate), OK, SD, US Territories (AA, AE, AP, AS, FM, GU, MH, MP, PW, VI, excluding PR), WV, WY nrosales@haverford.edu

ADMISSION COUNSELOR

Anna Truman-Wysss

AL, AR, CT, IL, KY, LA, MI, MN, MO, MS, OH, PA (Chester and Montgomery Counties), WI atrumanwys@haverford.edu