Community Engagement

How I read a book, thought of a project, and got Pomona to pay for it

Posted on by Laura Zhang
By Laura Zhang ‘19 Believe me, if someone had told me when I came to Pomona that I would spend my summer after junior year working on a 5-week project with an animal welfare organization in northern Vietnam I wouldn’t have believed them for a second. Now, in my senior year, I’ve had the experience of taking a transformative class that led to an amazing opportunity abroad. ...
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Lessons from a Community College Transfer Student

Posted on by Blake Plante
By Blake Plante '19 It’s moments like sitting in front of a disheartened community college counselor when you realize how little is expected from you by this world. Don’t get me wrong. I met inspiring and encouraging people at community college, and it was their encouragement that gave me the confidence to aim high. But, like the motto of the TV show Community goes, if you g...
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Tips for Incoming New Students (or, Mistakes I’ve Made Over the Past Three Years)

Posted on by cyhg2015
By Cheryl Yau '19 As one of the Head Mentors for the International Student Mentor Program (ISMP), I have had the opportunity to interact with many new students. Questions I’m often asked include: what would you have done differently? What do you wish you had known as a new student? Unsurprisingly, there are many things I wish someone had told me, and, with that, here is Cher...
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Pomona’s Alternative Music Festival

Posted on by Toran Langford
By Toran Langford ‘21 New to campus? Like music but can’t afford or don’t want to buy into mainstream festivals? Welp, Nochella is just for you! Let me explain a little background. SO WHAT IS NOCHELLA ANYWAY? The Nochella Music Festival was created by the Pomona Events Committee (PEC)  which is under the Live Arts Committee that plans concerts and performances, in coll...
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Forging Transnational Identity

Posted on by Joaquin Lorenzo Labio
By Joaquin Lorenzo Labio '20 A year and a half ago, amidst roaring cheers and flashing cameras, the class of 2020 ran through Pomona College's stone gates. Of the four hundred and eleven new faces, I was the only student from the Philippines. I felt a little special, yes, but also a little lonely. I realized no one else grew up like I did: bowls of sinigang, nights of kar...
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For Prospective Students of Color

Posted on by Toran Langford
By Toran Langford ’21 First of all, no college has the perfect recipe for racial/ethnic relations. But, at the Claremont Colleges, there are support systems for students of the African Diaspora. Specifically, in my experience, the administration is happy to make adaptations to accommodate concerns. In regards to race-based concerns, Pomona has promised to increase mental hea...
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Community Engagement … More Than an Adventure

Posted on by Toran Langford
by Toran Langford '21 Just about two months ago, I left my urban home of New Orleans for the suburban community of Claremont. Upon arrival at Pomona College, I was shocked to discover that students had a drastically different mindset than where I came from. How was this possible? Is California really as liberal and progressive as the news told me? Ironically enough, just ...
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A Love Letter to PAYS (Pomona Academy for Youth Success)

Posted on by Eisen Ipac
group of students
by Eisen Ipac '19 “EISEN? EISEN ARE YOU AWAKE?” Hearing timid knocks, I fumble for my phone, wondering what time it is. 6:30 AM. The knocks stop, so I quickly kick off my blanket and run to open the door. A tall girl with beautiful warm skin and a soft face looks at me with apologetic eyes. “Hey Maeve, is everything okay?” “Sorry to wake you up, Eisen, but I locked myself...
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Ten Things to Look Forward to Your First Year at Pomona

Posted on by Jack Buyske
Ten things to look forward to in your first year at Pomona College (in no particular order): by Jack Buyske '18 1. Fountaining What is fountaining, you ask? At some point during your first year, your sponsor group will gently lower you (read: drop you) into one of the many beautiful fountains around campus. This is traditionally done at midnight on one’s birthday, but if y...
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10 Things To Do When Visiting Pomona

Posted on by Sam Schreiber
By Sam Kelly ’17 and Feather Flores ’17 We like to think students choose to come to Pomona for the top-tier liberal arts education. It also doesn’t hurt that we are in Southern California, just 35 miles from Los Angeles and near the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. Pomona students have access to a wide variety of recreational activities. From outdoor exploits to u...
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