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Nothing makes him happier

Nicholas Alexander Brown ’10

To call the sheer volume of activities that surround Nicholas Alexander Brown dizzying would not be an exaggeration. Talk to him and you find his passion for music and conducting are palpable. “I could not live without doing music; there is nothing that makes me happier,” he says.

Brown directs his seemingly boundless energy toward leadership positions (founder, conductor, manager) and participation (French horn player, vocalist) in many venues, including band, orchestra, chamber ensembles, the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and theater.

A member of the Massachusetts Army National Guard, Brown is committed to service and is also fascinated by history.

“At Brandeis,” Brown notes, “I’ve been able to explore so many different things at a very high level. The B.A. program in music at Brandeis is special because you can explore whatever you want while still maintaining the focus on your specific area of concentration. Brandeis students are dedicated to education — we love to learn.”

Taking stage

Hank Lin ’10

Hank Lin spends his hours strutting and fretting upon the stage. Devoting his time to the three major theater clubs on campus — the Undergraduate Theater Collective, Free Play and the Brandeis Theater Company — he makes it a point to get on stage every semester.

A transfer student, he says that he came to Brandeis because of the strong theater arts program and generous financial aid package available. Although he initially wanted to focus only on theater, Brandeis has broadened his view.

“I have grown to recognize that learning comes through disparate experiences. A liberal arts education’s aim is to attempt to educate a whole, well-rounded individual, rather than a narrow specialist. I appreciate the many complex and passionate people I meet who are committed to the growth and development of their craft, yet simultaneously brilliantly individual and multifaceted.”

When Art Informs Social Change

Catherine McConnell ’10

Attracted to the social justice mission of Brandeis, Catherine McConnell has taken advantage of opportunities for social activism on and off campus. She’s involved in the Student Peace Alliance, a student-run group that advocates for a U.S. Department of Peace, and she helped start Girl Group, an organization whose members work with young girls in a women’s homeless shelter in Waltham.

But there is one experience that changed McConnell’s life and made an indelible impression. As an Ethics Center Student Fellow last year, she interned at a community art studio in Johannesburg, South Africa, over the summer. Returning to campus last fall, McConnell explored the themes and ideas from her internship in her coursework, enabling her to “continue my experience abroad here.”

“Brandeis is the kind of place that understands that learning can come in many different forms and is not always defined by sitting in a classroom,” she says. “I will leave Brandeis with an amazing education, great friends and mentors who have helped me grow.”