alumni news
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Don’t Mind the Gap
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As the pandemic disrupts college life, recent alums are learning to adjust—or finding educational alternatives BY ELLIE WOLFE ’19
1. NINA RENKERT ’20
2. ANYA ROZARIO ’20
Last August, when I was preparing to start my first year at Bates College, the most stressful things I had to think about were picking my classes and preparing for my orientation camping trip (Camping? Outside? A nightmare.). I could never have imagined that a year later, those graduating in the class of 2020 would have to be contemplating much more difficult decisions, such as whether to take a gap year as a result of a global pandemic. Meanwhile, many of my classmates, now in college and daunted by the idea of more online classes, also had to decide whether to take time off from school. While I am taking classes in person in Lewiston, Maine, I learned of other college-age Williston alumni who are taking a break to spend this confusing moment doing extraordinarily interesting things, and have found ways to be incredibly creative with their time. After checking in with a number of them, I was left inspired —and especially proud to be a Wildcat. Here’s what I discovered.
Instead of heading up to Saratoga Springs, N.Y., to start her first year at Skidmore College, Nina Renkert has chosen a decidedly smellier option: working on a goat farm. Despite her initial concerns about taking a gap year, she has thrown herself into making cheese and taking care of all the animals. Also an artist, Renkert began painting a mural during quarantine that will soon be hung in Williston’s Reed Campus Center. “The Healing Mural” focuses on the restorative power of art and nature. “My hope is that everybody will see something different every time they pass,” she said, “and will reflect on the power of their own self and voice.”
Anya Rozario has also opted to take a gap year, rather than start at Pomona College, but is working hard to “learn a lot outside of the classroom,” and has been focusing on helping her family around the house. She has a long list of books she plans to read (favorites so far: The Color Purple by Alice Walker and My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem), and is taking some courses online. She has also started tutoring kids in her neighborhood, and has picked up embroidery. “I hope to be rested and refreshed for college in a year,” she says. “Although I wish I could have gone to Pomona this year, I am planning to make the most of my time at home.”
30 WILLISTON NORTHAMPTON SCHOOL
