"Before coming to Bryn Mawr, I never imagined being able to attend graduate school."
"I grew up in a family that valued traditional labor—not ‘scholarship,’ ‘writing,’ and ‘academia.’ There was nothing theoretical about their definition of ‘work.’ Although I have grappled with the possibility of making a career out of scholarship, each hour that I spend in a classroom reminds me how much I really do revel in reading and writing. My professors have convinced me that I can afford to further my education despite being a self-financed student. Thanks to a Mellon Mays Fellowship and a Beinecke Memorial Scholarship, I can confidently say that I will be the first person in my immediate family to attain not only a college education but also a Ph.D. in the humanities."
Nicole Gervasio '09
Trenton, N.J.
Majors: English, Growth and Structure of Cities, with concentrations in Africana studies and creative writing
Note: Nicole Gervasio '10 is one of 21 students nationwide who were awarded a Beinecke Memorial Scholarship for graduate study in 2009; after graduating, she plans to enter a Ph.D. program in literary studies and focus on issues of sexuality in postcolonial African literature. A poet and writer, she edits the Bryn Mawr literary magazine Kaleidoscope and has written for both the Bi-College News and the College News. Read more about her in Bryn Mawr Now.
