The Aspirations of Five Fresh Freshmen

Remember when you read that great little booklet put out by the admissions committee? Remember when you decided Harvard was the only place to cultivate your interests in Sanskrit and chess?

At least some of the 1605 members of the Class of '92 will share those interests when they converge upon Cambridge next September.

The Admissions committee makes it a policy to attract the most diverse student body it can and spends time, money and effort to send representatives around the country to appeal to a wide group of applicants. And, as a talk with five of the incoming members of the freshmen class of 1992 shows, they invariably succeed in drawing a pool of students with widely divergent interests and backgrounds.

A. Keven McAlester '92 says that it is the academic atmosphere and the metropolitan area that will bring him through the portals of Johnston Gate this September. A native of Dallas, Texas, McAlester says that he has spent a great deal of time in Boston and Cambridge, and felt there was really no way to turn down a chance to live in a different area of the country or to say no to a Harvard education.

While a student at the St. Marks School of Texas, McAlester worked at his school's radio station, playing a combination of classical and local new wave music; he says he would like to get involved with WHRB when he arrives in Cambridge. And, while he freely admits that he is not "Mr. Sportsman", he says he does enjoy a pick-up game of basketball every now and then, and says he might even like to join an intramural team. McAlester says, at this point he is unsure what he will concentrate, but says that French history or literature might be an option.

For Kelly S. Mikelson '92 staying near home a key factor in her decision to attend Harvard. A resident of Brookline, Mikelsoln came to Massachusetts two years ago and says she is not ready to leave. "I really like this city," she says. "It's incredibly diverse and a comfortable place to be."

Mikelson, who attended Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School, says that she would like to work for a Black support group once she gets here adding that she also intends to join undergraduate athletics teams. And, while the potential science concentator says she may continue to play her high school sport of soccer, she says she might also like to play rugby. "I just really look forward to doing something different," she says. "I want to try new things during college."

Jean-Marie Alves '92 says she had no idea she would attend Harvard until her college visit last spring. "I applied to seven schools and had a really tough time deciding where to go. I think it was the friendliness of the people I met here that made the difference."

Alves says that the people she met at Harvard were more intense and seemed to really enjoy what they were learning. "I didn't find that at other schools," she says. "At other places people said they were having fun and all, and that's important, but the people here seemed more intellectual, and everyone seemed to excell at something. So many people were excited to tell me about what they were learning or doing."

The native of White Plains, New York said that being in the Boston area was certainly an attraction, but adds that she also looks forward to studying biology and psychology in college, perhaps as a route to medical school. "Another thing I really want to do is get involved with community service," she says. "In high school I did sports and I might do some intramural swimming here, but I really want to work with children and the homeless when I go to Cambridge."

For Jeanne Simpson '92 the presence of the American Repertory Theater at Harvard was reason enough to come to Cambridge for her undergraduate education. A native of Dallas who was the only woman to be named a 1988 Presidential Scholar of the Arts in the theater category, Simpson says, "I am just really excited to be near the ART and to work with Robert Brustein." She adds that she plans to get involved with dancing, acting, directing and even writing plays for Harvard theater.

Simpson says that Harvard's academic reputation also attracted her to the campus. "The college itself is beautiful, and the location is great," says the potential philosophy concentrator, "but what really impressed me was the variety of courses offered." Simpson says that she may also work as a deejay for the campus radio station, WHRB.

For Belmont resident Kim J. O'Neil '92, coming to Harvard was a family decision. Somewhat frustrated by the college application process, O'Neil was attracted to Harvard last fall after talking with her uncle, who is a graduate. "I wasn't really sure where I wanted to go--I had actually been turned off from Harvard for a long time, but then I applied to placate my parents. When I got in I visited some friends of my sister's and found the school a lot less intimidating."

The fact that Harvard is close to home and that it is in the city was also a decisive factor for O'Neil. "I wanted to be in a place that wasn't isolated," she says. O'Neil, who graduated from Belmont High School last spring, plans to continue painting and dancing at Harvard and says she may also work for a campus literary magazine.