Centre News

Sophomore Liz Ko says she chose to attend Centre in
part because she loved “the idea of a small school...I
wanted to know the people around me, and I wanted
them to know me.”

Ko enjoying the pumpkin carving event last Halloween

Liz Ko ’13, one of this year’s My CENTRE Life bloggers, is a communicator at heart. She blogs in order to share her life and her Centre experience with friends and family, both in Boston and abroad. And Liz is turning her passion for language and communication into an academic opportunity by self-designing a major in modern foreign languages.

“I want to be able to know people, to understand them, to understand their culture, to learn about them, to hear their stories and to maybe even share stories of my own,” Ko says. “Languages are portals into a whole other world.”

Ko’s goal is to learn as many languages and about as many people as possible.

“I’m not exactly sure what I would like to do with this experience once I graduate,” she says. “Hopefully something amazing.”

Ko is a member of Centre’s Posse Program. The Posse Foundation is an organization that prepares promising, small groups of public high school students for enrollment at top-tier colleges around the country; Centre’s Posse members are all Boston-area natives. In May 2010, Centre’s first Posse class graduated.

Ko is a member of Centre’s fourth Posse group, and she says her experience has been great.

“I know I’ll always be able to go to my Posse and my Posse mentor, Alex McAlister (associate professor of math), whenever and if ever I need to,” Ko says. “It’s really a great feeling knowing that I have such a strong support system. I think everyone should have a Posse.”

Moving from Boston to Danville would be a bit of a culture shock for anyone, and Ko says the most significant difference between Boston and Danville is the atmosphere. She says Boston has a very rushed, very competitive atmosphere that keeps people on their feet, while Danville is calmer and more relaxed.

“Both have advantages and disadvantages,” she says. “Boston’s competitive and rushed atmosphere keeps things fresh and exciting while Danville’s relaxed atmosphere allows for more reflection and allows people to step back and examine things.”

Because Ko’s passion for language drives her desire to expand her horizons, she purposely chose to attend college in Kentucky. She had other choices in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York.

“I chose Centre because I wanted to fully experience the United States,” she explains. “We call ourselves Americans, but there are so many Americas.” Ko is familiar with city life, life on the east coast and life in the north.

“I wanted to experience another way of living, and I wanted to understand what it means to be American,” she says.

Ko also chose Centre because of its study abroad program, where more than 85 percent of students study abroad.

“I knew I was passionate about studying abroad so Centre seemed perfect,” Ko says. “In addition, I loved the idea of a small school and was terrified by the idea of a large one. I wanted to know the people around me, and I wanted them to know me.”

Click here to follow Liz Ko’s Centre life. Also, check out spotlights on MCL bloggers Annie from Cincinnati and C.J. from Memphis.