There are so many ways to connect with the college and our 23,000 alumni. Connect, give, volunteer, learn, mentor, keep up with class news, learn about regional programming, and so much more.
This video is part of our on-going Alumni in the Field series, where alumni reflect on their career paths and how their Amherst experience shaped their lives
Luciana Duarte ‘93, a native Brazilian, who was originally set on being a literature major, but found herself adding a new subject after an experience many fellow alumni can relate to: she took a class and fell in love with anthropology.
The Amherst environment fosters lifelong friendships and sparks a deep and persistent desire to learn. Alumni are present in almost every walk of life. Some alumni are or have been prominent on the world scene and many others contribute to society in equally important though less public ways. A liberal arts education prepares students for careers, volunteer activities and individual interests and pursuits that are personally meaningful.
It’s not about what you have done since Amherst, but who you have become.
Chaka Laguerre ’08 was a first-generation college student. Now, building on her Amherst education, plus her law degree and two master's degrees, she is a trainee for the International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. "I am a lawyer by hand and an academic at heart," she says.
Read Chaka's story
In the lab, Christopher Lim ’12 studies how HIV evades the defenses of the human body. Outside, he advocates for diversity in STEM fields. Lim credits an Amherst biochemistry class and its professor as his main influences in choosing this area of study. While his career goal is to conduct research at the molecular level, he hopes to do that work with medical needs in mind.
Read Christopher's story
Though she majored in math at Amherst, Hillary Blanken Gallo '88 spent a lot of time with the theater and dance department, serving as stage manager for numerous shows. She also took a semester off to work as a production assistant on a tour of Les Misérables, which led, after her graduation, to a career behind the scenes on Broadway.
Read Hillary's story
Pediatrician and The Upshot columnist Aaron E. Carroll '94 makes frequent use of an Amherst course he took in law, jurisprudence and social thought. That course, he writes, “has made me more humble about what I ‘know.’ It’s led me to write a few books debunking medical myths. It’s led me to hold greater equipoise about what I might find in my research. Most importantly, it’s led me to bring up ideas in public forums, and to listen to what people say back.”
Read Aaron's story