(Photo courtesy of Leila Kouakou)
What’s your favourite thing about Mount Holyoke?
I’d say it’s probably all the opportunities that are available to me here. You know, like all the work the CDC does in helping to prepare me for my career, and also all the hard work that professors do in the effort to help get me to where I want to go. That’s something you don’t always get to have.
What 3 words would you use to describe yourself?
Independent, funny and…. sexy (chuckles)! No the third would probably be mature because that’s what a lot of people use to describe me.
What animal would you be and why?
People say that I look like a deer or a fox.
Which Disney princess would you be and why?
I’m not obsessed with Disney, but if I were a Disney princess I’d probably be Mulan because she’s the most badass.
If you could tick one thing off your bucket list right now, what would it be?
I’ve always wanted to bake a cake for firefighters, even though they’ve never had to come to my house, because I just feel like the are very underappreciated. It’s just a thing! I’ve actually wanted to do that since I was like 5.
If you could go anywhere where would it be and why?
Australia or New Zealand! Because they have amazing landscapes which I’m very interested in painting, and they also have a lot of environmental studies work there. I also did a project on the aboriginal people of Australia, and I’ve just always been very interested in native culture, especially religions, so it’s just the perfect place! It’s where I want to be.
You mentioned that you would like to paint landscapes, how much does art play into your life? Do you take any art classes?
Well I took four years of honours art in high school, that’s like 8 semesters, so it was pretty much my entire life in high school. But in college I haven’t really been able to take as many art classes because Bio takes up my life now. Also, you can’t get into the upper levels without taking the lower levels, and I can’t get into the lower levels because they are always filled up. But I’m hoping that maybe in my future career I can combine some sort of art with bio and environmental studies.
So what is it that you like about art? And what does it mean to you?
I think that, well, the types of art that I like, which are landscapes, and the media that I use, which is paint and charcoal, I think they really describe my personality. Those particular media are pretty easily to control, and pretty forgiving so you can always change things and you can always be free with them. You don’t have to meticulously spend hours making everything perfect, you can kind of just go with the flow, get the general gist of it and then if you want to go into more detail you can, but you don’t have to. [I love] landscapes because I’ve always just been into nature.
Who is your favourite artist and why?
My favorite visual artist is William Bouguereau because his paintings are just very ethereal. There’s like a lot of lightness about them; there’s a lot of angelic light in every portrait that he paints. I think it’s just really beautiful. My favorite musical artists are Born Ruffians. However, my all-time favorite song has to be Hate That I Love You by Rihanna and Ne-Yo. Whenever I’m sad or angry I just listen to it and it makes me feel so much better, I don’t know why…
Fileuse (The Spinner) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau
Hate That I Love You by Rihanna and Ne-Yo
What do you do in your spare time?
I am on the lacrosse team which takes up quite a bit of my time. I am also trying to plan for my future endeavors- I’m trying to look for scholarships, study abroad programs, and internships abroad. That would be great, especially if I could get one for environmental studies or biology!
What’s your ideal date?
To go to a place with animals that I could pet! It would probably be going to an animal shelter to pet the animals, going to a nice restaurant, and then playing some Capture the Flag afterwards.
If you see this Campus Cutie strutting around campus don’t forget to ask her about her passion for art, biology, and environmental studies. Also, don’t forget to serenade her with her favorite song!