In this conversation between Isabelle Anderson ’25 and President Michael Elliott, Isabelle shares what it's like being a Community Advisor in a first-year residence hall, the opportunities she's had to participate in the arts, and she offers her best advice to the incoming class of 2028.
When President Elliott sat down with Leah Schmalzbauer, professor of American studies and sociology, he asked her how Amherst students have changed over the years, to describe her research process for her most recent book, and to talk about her role as the Faculty Athletics Representative.
President Elliott asked Naviya Kapadia ’24 about being a philosophy and neuroscience double major, and the thesis she's writing on belief and responsibility. Watch the video to learn what it means to "love something beyond reason" and Naviya's favorite study spot on campus.
Sarah Wu ’25, a computer science and English double major, talks with President Elliott about her experiences as an editor at the student-run literary journal, The Indicator, and as an editorial assistant at The Common where she helps to promote LitFest.
Anne-Claire “Ace” Roesch ’08 shared with President Elliott thoughts from her keynote address at the first-ever Sophomore Summit, a program designed to help sophomores recognize their strengths and interests long before entering the workforce.
President Elliott joined Ana Devlin Gauthier, a learning and development facilitator in Human Resources, to talk about her involvement in local town politics, how she got involved, and some of her favorite local places to visit.
In this episode, President Elliott asks Inés Rossi ’25, a Spanish and biochemistry double major, how she first learned about Amherst College, what drew her to become a tour guide, and her favorite “secret” study spot on campus.
President Elliott and Grace Nyanchoka ’24 discuss her involvement in the Center for International Student Engagement (CISE), her understanding of leadership has evolved, and her favorite place on campus to which she'll gravitate when she returns as an alumna.
President Elliott and Ben Clark-Eden ’25 chat about his experience as a Social Media Intern for the Office of Communications, how the men's soccer team, which he is the co-captain of, is feeling this semester, and most importantly, he names his favorite Premier League team.
President Elliott and Martha Umphrey, Bertrand H. Snell 1894 Professor in American Government in the Department of Law, Jurisprudence & Social Thought, discuss the law and politics of free speech, and ways to engage students in free speech with curiosity and a sense of play rather than fear.
President Elliott sat down with Darien McFadden, the director of the Center for Counseling and Mental Health, to talk about recent changes to the Center, the importance of engaging with students around mental health resources, and to ask Darien to name one of his favorite books.
President Elliott joined Manager of Farm Education and Operations Maida Ives at the Book & Plow farm to discuss the impact of extreme weather on crops, how local farmers are sharing resources, current sustainability efforts, and Maida's favorite thing to grow at the farm.
President Michael Elliott sat down with Shane Dillon ’26 to talk about his position as an Orientation Leader, as Vice President of the Association of Amherst Students (AAS), and, most importantly, to find out where his favorite study spot is inside Frost Library.
Professor of Music Jeffers Engelhardt and President Elliott meet up to talk about the music department's connection and collaboration with The Drake, a performance space that opened in 2022 in the town of Amherst.
Assistant Professor of Biology Marc Edwards and President Elliott sat down together to talk about the STEM Incubator Program: how it started, its goals, and how it feels now that the first cohort of students to go through the program are graduating.