Sommer Hayes ’19 is truly a ray of sunshine. She is one of the people on campus that I often said hi to in passing before I knew her name. She is an absolute sweetheart and you should get to know her with Her Campus!
Tell me about where are you from:
I’m Texas born and raised (the best state in my humble opinion…jk, but not really). As for what city, I usually answer Houston because everyone knows where that is, but I’m actually from Fresno which is about 30/45 minutes from the downtown Houston area.
How does the weather at Amherst compare to the weather back home?
It’s terrible. I hate cold weather, like, why is the air hurting my lungs?!? I used to consider 65 cold…good times. But yeah, I miss the 90 degree weather, the 80% humidity, and the sun. It is pretty cool to see leaves change color though, back home our leaves have two stages: green and dead. I guess I should count my blessings, sigh. Why did you choose to attend Amherst?:
Well, I was matched to Amherst through the QuestBridge program. I initially became interested because of the open curriculum (no more math classes?!?! Oops, sorry math majors…y’all are bomb) and the beautiful scenery. Besides, I have 5 other siblings going through school/college, so being matched was an incredible blessing that I couldn’t pass up.
What are you interested in both academically and leisurely?:
I declared Religious Studies as my major this semester. I love exploring both culture and religion, specifically looking at how they have interacted with and influenced one another through time.
For fun, I love reading—I always have. Seeing how people create or merge languages, histories, and cultures into one novel to progress a plot is fascinating. I’ll often go to Tuttle Hill or the Japanese Garden to read outside for a few hours when it’s warm…aka, not as often as I would like.
What are you passionate about the most?
Well, next semester I am going to be president of Remnant, the Black Christian organization on campus. It’ll be a challenge, but I am so excited to be involved with the further development of a space where I can celebrate the union of my Blackness and my religion. It can be difficult to be both Black and Christian in a space like Amherst…tbh a space like America, so it’s epic to be working with such great people on such meaningful work.
Tell me the best memory of your first year:
Wow, that seems like ages ago…I’d probably go with my first Thanksgiving week at college. I didn’t get to go home, but my older sister, Endia, visited me from Spelman College in Georgia. She’s my best friend, but was also very worried about me being up here all alone, so being able to show her my campus and having her meet my friends was awesome. Plus, it gave me an excuse to spend money…those are always welcome.
What are your plans for the rest of your time at Amherst and beyond:
Well, number one: graduate. Aside from that, I have no idea what I want to do. Whatever I become involved in, I hope it revolves around hearing people’s stories and learning a little bit about everything. Wherever I go, I never want to stop learning about and growing with the people around me. I have a huge family so I blame them for my love of noise and good company, but ideally I would never be without an abundance of either.
What is the best compliment you’ve received?
Honestly, I consider a person’s trust the best compliment ever. I mean, trusting people is incredibly hard for me, so to have someone else decide I can be trusted to sit and listen, or trusted to have someone else’s back, or even trusted with more responsibility…that’s all the goals.