Heyy! I'm Elena, a student at Brown planning to double concentrate in Visual Arts and Theatre Arts & Performance Studies. I'm from a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, and I'm able to talk a lot about what it's like adjusting to Brown as a student from a diverse background (Korean-American​/​LGBTQ+​/​atheist)! I'm interested in ALL things humanities, from writing to music to art to theatre and I'm involved in several clubs related to those. I'm a total yapper and I'm super excited to give you all the details about everything I know about Brown, from food quality to social drama to classes to dorms!

Hometown

Avon, Ohio

Major(s)

Visual Arts, Theatre Arts and Performance Studies, Modern Culture & Media

Clubs, organizations & involvement

Brown Daily Herald (Graphic Designer) Brown Film Magazine (Senior Editor & Staff Writer) Production Workshop (Board Member) Brown Musical Forum (Co-Stage Manager for Spring 2025) Trained Writing Fellow (Paid Job)

Describe your college experience

As a whole, I think Brown is a great place in nearly every regard: academics, independence, mental health, food, extracurriculars, socializing, and growing as a person. I've had so many unforgettable memories already with talking to hallway friends until 6 in the morning and having some of the most wholesome conversations with strangers from other floors of my dorm in the laundry room at night (I'm a bit of a night owl if it wasn't clear), and studying at the library (it's very dark academia core) and getting to hold a famous duck on the Main Green. However, as a humanities major, I will say that I had a bit of jaggedness in my transition to Brown as it wasn't as humanities-accommodating as I had hoped when I first came to campus.

Tip for future students

- The whole "say yes to everything" for your first semester to try out new experiences is SO overrated! Stepping out of your comfort zone is always welcome but don't push yourself too much, you'll just end up draining yourself and doing things you don't even want to do. - Make it a priority to find YOUR spot on campus. There's gonna be a spot. Trust me, when times get hard and you're homesick​/​just not doing well, you'll be grateful if you have one to just recharge and be by yourself. It'll feel right when you find it. - Sometimes, the most loser-like circumstances (talking to your friends in the basement of a dorm instead of going to the party everyone else is going to) make the best memories. - Maybe controversial: go with the Flex 460 dining hall plan!! All my friends on 20 Weekly hate themselves and end up having to do the walk of shame from Jo's (late-night dining hall) to Keeney with 18 bottles of pink lemonade every Saturday night to use up their remaining meal swipes.

Favorite class

My favorite class was VISA0120 (Foundation Media), a course about four-dimensional art in the form of audio and video. I actually found this class really frustrating at times and I had a few embarrassing moments with crits (showing your work to the entire class and they critique it for about 5 minutes) but it gave me a lot of new perspective on the meaning of art and how it differentiates by the person. It also made me change my prospective concentration from Visual Arts and Literary Arts to Visual Arts and Modern Culture & Media and Theatre Arts & Performance Studies after a project that heavily involved screenwriting, acting, and directing. The prompts were all super flexible and the professor's methods of instruction really gave me insight into what teaching is like at Brown (VERY different from my high school).

Career goals

I want to become a movie director, or something related to that, like producing or screenwriting. Whatever it is, I really hope to be involved in the TV​/​film industry. I might also do some fiction writing on the side and publish a few books, and maybe be involved in an orchestra casually.

Ideal way to spend a free night

I will either walk over to my best friend's dorm, sit on her floor, and yap with her about social drama, or stay in my dorm, turn on my humidifier and ambient lighting, and just relax with the show I'm watching at the time, or go see if there's any fun events I can go to, like the Brown Ballet Company's Nutcracker Ballet or the "Great Gatsby"-themed Masquerade Ball at a nearby club in Providence.

High school or secondary school

Avon High School in Avon, Ohio