Joojo Ocran ’17
My first interaction with Dickinson came during my college application process. I had applied to quite a few schools in the US was unable to visit or interview with any of them because I was living in Ghana at the time. Dickinson immediately stood out to me because the admissions counsellors were incredibly warm and helpful, and they took the time to develop a personal relationship with me instead of sending me cookie-cutter emails.
The impact that my admissions counselors had on me has been a big factor in my Dickinson experience so far, and is the reason I gravitated toward working in admissions in the first place. My Dickinson experience has been phenomenal, and as an IB&M and French double major, I have had many opportunities that I could not imagine prior to Dickinson. I have had the chance to do research on sustainable entrepreneurship, and the opportunity to study abroad in Toulouse. Academic experiences such as these have expanded my perspective and have made the last three years a period of tremendous growth for me.
Dickinson has also provided me with avenues outside the classroom through which to expand on my academic pursuits. Through an alumni connection, I have had the opportunity to serve as the communications and operations intern at EveryoneOn, a national nonprofit that aims to bridge the digital divide by providing communities with digital literacy training, internet access, and low cost devices. My liberal-arts education at Dickinson provided me with the tools to comfortably bridge the disparate worlds of communications and operations, and gave me an unparalleled opportunity for professional learning and growth.
I am very excited to be a student interviewer next year. It feels like my three years at Dickinson have flown by, and while I’m thrilled to be a senior and I look forward to postgraduate life, I will undoubtedly miss this incredible institution of higher learning when I graduate. If you have any questions about Dickinson or any of the stories I shared, please email me at ocranj@dickinson.edu, and I will be glad to chat with you about this wonderful place I now call home.