Corey Simmonds '17

When I was in high school, I had a teacher who knew about Grinnell and knew it fit my criteria. I was interested in a small college because I wanted a small-classroom experience. I knew I wouldn’t know what to expect from a college experience, but I wanted the intimacy a small school offers and to be involved on a level that isn’t as possible at a larger school.

I serve as the Student Government Association’s concerts chair, which takes up a decent amount of time. I also sing with G-Tones and am involved with Concerned Black Students. Over the years, I’ve been involved in an improv troupe and was part of my own band and musical production on the side.

An open curriculum is awesome, but it can make for a little more uncertainty. Music held everything together; at the end of the day, I knew the music would be there. It’s nice to have something that can drag you away from work and provides a good time for yourself and other people. It’s been a good way to build a community on campus outside of academics.

It took until my third year here for me to decide to major in computer science. I had been considering biochemistry and then switched to economics — I planned to go into hospital policy. Over time, I started to see how many economic forces are moving in a direction that’s influenced by technology, so I moved to computer science. At this point, that’s the seed, and what grows from it affects all different kinds of industries; and I want to be a part of that place of change. Your gifts give me music.

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