When Mehri Hamrokulova started looking at colleges, the Baltimore, Md., resident was drawn to Colgate after interacting with its faculty members. “I reached out to them with questions during my application process, and they never hesitated to help,” she says.
While Hamrokulova is planning on studies that will put her on a path to medical school, she is also planning on continuing her work running a nonprofit organization that supports educational tutoring for girls in Uzbekistan.
Daniel Pablo Rodriguez, an Early Decision applicant from Arizona, first learned of Colgate through a 5th-grade teacher who attended a training program at the University. Rodriguez says he was looking for schools with a good international relations program because he would like to be involved with diplomacy in the future.
He also runs a charity, which he started at age 13, called Jesus to the Children of the World. The organization raises money for school supplies and snacks for youth in Cuba and Haiti. His first fundraising effort resulted in the purchase of 100 Bibles and 100 baseballs for students. He was also successful in lobbying his local city council to build a monument to immigrants, and they put him in charge of the commission to see the project through to completion.
“I’m excited to talk with other Latino students,” Rodriguez says. He is also interested in exploring other cultures and engaging with the issues of the day. “One of my biggest passions is learning to understand the social issues. Being educated on those topics is the best thing you can do to help improve situations.”
Darius Hagyan, from Miami, Fla., was drawn to Colgate for its liberal arts model of education and because of Colgate’s first-year seminar (FSEM). “I don’t see many other schools with a program similar to that in any regard,” Hagyan says. “There’s such a large variety of FSEMs you can take. It allows you to build a close connection with your FSEM instructor, who could essentially become a mentor. I’m really looking forward to having that experience so early in college.”
“The immense level of talent and the highly distinctive but widely varying achievements present in the class are very well represented in Mehri, Daniel, and Darius,” says Gary Ross, the Jones and Wood Family Vice President for admission and financial aid. “We are excited for those three students and each of their classmates as they begin their Colgate journey.”