This morning we visited our final school of the tour,
Macalester College in St. Paul. Unlike the other schools yesterday, Macalester
would, by far, be the easier transition for a NYC student because of its urban
proximity. The school is surrounded by traditional urban sprawl (with both
lovely homes and retail shops/dining options) and is only a few miles from the
airport. A “mission driven’ liberal arts college, Macalester focuses on core
values like: internationalism, academic excellence, civic engagement, and
multiculturalism. While the arts and humanities are alive and well, Macalester
also offers interdisciplinary majors like Data Science and International
Studies – both of which are very popular. All students have to complete
graduation distribution requirements, creating structure made up of flexible
options for each of the mandated categories. Both the President and the
students we talked to mentioned Macalester’s encouragement of problem solving
and creativity. They regularly hold 'Mac-a-thons' and one great idea that was born out of these incubation sessions
is something called Nüdl – a
student created mealshare program that pairs up culinary hosts with people looking to make
new friends and try new foods. Students sign up for the ‘Nüdl’, pay the host a nominal
fee (as in, $3-$5 to cover the cost of the food), and get together to eat. The
student we were chatting with was Honduran and hosting a Nüdl for six people later
that day. It sounds so amazing!
With 2,000 students, Macalester’s commitment to global issues is
nothing new. While they have Kofi Annon as an alum, the UN flag has been flying
on their quad since the 1950s, decades before Annon assumed his role as
Secretary-General. They have had international students since before it was
cool to have international students. Perhaps my favorite part of the morning
though was the mini-lectures they arranged for us. Too many schools overlook
this great resource on these types of counselor tours. They give us faculty on
panels but they don’t let the faculty shine in their natural habitat: the
classroom. This is a missed opportunity, because the 20 minute music lecture we
got this morning was highly engaging, enjoyable, and educational. What better
way to see the liberal arts in action than by showing us, not just telling us.
If you want a small liberal arts school in a thriving city and you care about
social justice or social action, Macalester checks off a lot of boxes and awards merit aid.
Overall, my first trip to Minnesota was a huge success.
Thank you to these three schools for hosting me and giving us such an in depth
look at your campuses!
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