Epiphany at Vassar College

This morning, we woke up really early to catch the subway to get to Penn Station. Our AMTRAK train ride to Poughkeepsie, New York to Vassar College lasted a little bit more than an hour. Most of us tried to catch up on sleep during the scenic ride. When we arrived at Poughkeepsie, it was perfect weather -- sunny with a slight breeze. We walked out of the train station to find a place for breakfast. That is when Gabe came to the realization that "We're in the middle of nowhere." We ate in a small coffee shop that was next to a row of local businesses. Mrs. Lilhanand called a taxi, and we walked back to the train station so we could get to Vassar.

Once inside the taxi, all of us realized that we weren't in the city anymore. The roads only had two lanes -- one going in either direction. We passed a lot of greenery and wide open spaces. Mrs. Lilhanand asked the taxi driver what there was to do around Vassar and he said "Well, there's a bowling alley and lots of restaurants." During the ride, I did see a lot of local businesses and red brick buildings that were really pretty.

We arrived at Vassar, and the taxi driver took us to the visitor center. I thought that the college appeared small with all of it's brick buildings and Gothic architecture. We picked up some information on Vassar and Mrs. Lilhanand gave us a meaningful talk about the college application process. I realized that I still did not know what type of universities I would attend regarding the environment. I didn't know if I liked cities or small towns.

We weaved around the buildings, trying to find the admissions office. We met a student who was studying outside, and he said that Vassar had really good scenery (lakes) and that he was going there during the summer, even though he was a community college student. The program was designed to help people get ahead and experience what it is like to attend a four year university. We finally found the admissions office, where a stack of self-guided tours were in a box on the porch.

We followed the instructions on the tour guide. The more we walked around, the more I could see myself attending Vassar. It was really quiet and as Julie put it, "serene." There were trees everywhere and lots of patches of grass. We saw one of the lakes (it has a goose-chasing dog named Ben) briefly. The buildings looked very old, which added some beauty.

We were all tired, so we stopped about halfway during the tour so we could see Vanderbilt Mansion. On the taxi ride there, we drove down the main road and saw a lot of shops along both sides of the road. We saw a museum for Franklin D. Roosevelt, Marist College, and even the Culinary Institute of America. The more we kept driving, the more I loved the small town. I realized that I was not much of a big city person, and that I loved the more secluded areas. It was very peaceful and beautiful.



Matthew Vassar, the founder of Vassar College

Shakespeare Garden