Reflective Thoughts from a Graduating College Student

by Krista Lee

I came to Green Mountain College in 2011 and have been here for the past four years. A lot has changed over my course of my four years here and I am happy to have spent my undergraduate college career here and I am ready to move on and immerse myself in work that I am passionate about. 

I have been fortunate enough to have a lot of my learning happen out of the classroom since being at GMC. I have participated in alternative spring breaks for three out of my four years here and that facilitated a lot of learning for me. I organized GMC students though Activism@GMC to attend Mountain Justice Spring Break in 2012 and 2013 and learned a lot through being in Appalachia, VA and learning about mountaintop removal coal mining through workshops and attending sites. I participated in No More Deaths in Tucson, AZ in 2014 when I was an eco-league student at Prescott College and learned about the border, racism, and immigration and helped provide humanitarian aid in the form of food, water, and blankets to people working to cross the desert and cross the border. Attending alternative spring breaks contributed to a lot of my learning as an undergraduate student. 

I have been a member of Activism@GMC for four years which is a student club that works to discuss and organize around issues of social, political, and environmental issues that the country and world are facing and looking at them in a systemic way that addresses the root causes. This has been a highlight and major basis of my learning since being at GMC and have learned from peers as well as literature other members of the community. I have worked with a lot of students and had many discussions with people that have helped evolve and inform my ideas and actions, and am forever grateful for those conversations. 

I am a double major in Psychology and Sociology/Anthropology and my interests are deeply embedded in the individual while looking at larger systems that affect people and working as a community organizer to address oppression, inequality, and discrimination. Working to address issues with passionate people who are dedicated to social and environmental issues is important to me. 

My time at GMC has overall been incredibly positive, although I have my frustrations about the institution just like most college students probably have about their colleges and universities. Something that I do appreciate about GMC is that I have met a lot of wonderful students, faculty, and staff members who work to address issues to make the college a better place. I love the NorthEast and NewEngland and Vermont and have enjoyed the setting of a small environmental liberal arts college in this beautiful state and interesting small town. 

In two weeks I will be a college graduate, which is a privileged status that many people are not afforded. Education should be treated as a human right and everyone should be able to access it without being in debt.