Hi everyone! My name is Sylvie, and I’m a senior (class of 2025) from Baltimore, Maryland. I am an Environmental Studies major currently working on a senior honors thesis about highway building in my hometown. I also have taken lots of classes in the Portuguese department at UMass through the Five College Consortium and studied abroad in Lisbon last semester, so although we don’t have minors here, I would consider myself an honorary Portuguese minor.
I spend most of my time at the Zü (Humphries House), which is a 22-resident food co-op. We are the only on-campus residents who don’t eat at Valentine Dining Hall, and instead we shop, cook, and eat communally. My experience at the Zü has completely shaped my time at Amherst in a very special way. This year, I am the coordinator, which means I manage the house budget, facilitate weekly full-house meetings, and make sure all the house’s practical and impractical needs are met. The cover photo for this post is me in front of a ton of giant empty food containers before taking on the mammoth task of organizing the start of semester non-perishable bulk order. I also have been a DJ for WAMH, our student-run radio station, since my freshman year. Besides that, I’m big into biking–you will never see me on foot.
I also blogged during my sophomore year, and am excited to be back! Feel free to reach out to me anytime through email: swolff25@amherst.edu. I never got to visit Amherst before committing, so I know how useful online resources and talking to current students can be. I’d be happy to answer any questions you have. Until next time!