Student Highlight: Alex Kaplan
Hey Prospies! Welcome to this year’s Student Highlight, written by your new blogger, second-year Sarah Rubin. Want to learn about Brown’s super diverse and exciting student body? Tune in each week to read about a different Brown student and all of the cool stuff they do.
Iiiit’s baaaack! In case you missed Student Highlight last semester, this blog serves to highlight the fabulous members of Brown’s student body. And this semester, we have an awesome line-up of students who want to tell you why they love Brown. This week I chose to highlight second-year Alex Kaplan, a San Francisco native who transferred to Brown last fall. As a transfer, Alex offers a unique perspective on the open curriculum, the breadth of student organizations, and the strong sense of community on campus.
Alex notes that he was first drawn to Brown because he felt it had the perfect setting; while located in the city of Providence, it is still able to maintain a traditional campus feel and a strong sense of community, something he felt was lacking at his previous school. He also notes that the tight-knit community on campus made it easier to transition into social life at Brown: “It was really easy to meet new people,” he says.
Like most students, Alex was also drawn to the open curriculum and appreciated the freedom it offered him to explore his academic interests. “I didn’t know what I wanted to study, so the open curriculum was perfect for that,” he notes. He is currently planning to double concentrate in history and economics, and cites a history class called “Reading/Seeing/Making Brown” as one as his favorites so far. In a class of only seven students, he was able to learn about the rich history of Brown while familiarizing himself with campus and facilitating connections with his classmates and professor. The class also gave him an opportunity for undergraduate research; he now works with his professor on a new book about the history of Brown.
Alex also notes the ease with which he became involved in student clubs and organizations at Brown: “When I transferred, I was scared I wouldn’t be able to pick up where I left off or join clubs that were similar to my old school’s…but I’ve been able to get involved in a lot of aspects of student life at Brown.” Indeed, Alex is involved in an impressive number of extracurricular activities, including the Undergraduate Council of Students (UCS), which is Brown’s student government. He serves on the Academic, Administrative and Advising Committee of UCS, communicating with deans about academic-related issues and tackling advising projects. He is also the student writer for UCS’s newsletter, Cammarian, which updates the Brown community on UCS’ latest activities. He is also a staff writer for the Brown Daily Herald (Brown’s student newspaper) and its blog, Blog Daily Herald, and plays on an intramural hockey team once a week.
Overall, Alex says that his time at Brown has been a great experience so far and that he is incredibly happy with his decision to transfer. To check out some of Alex’s blog posts or others written by the awesome BDH staff, visit http://blogdailyherald.com.
Have thoughts on this week’s Highlight? Think you or one of your friends should be highlighted? Feel free to send comments, questions, concerns, complaints, or even praise to sarah_rubin@brown.edu.
