Caleb G. '14, Bowdoin '18

I have always wanted to be a marine biologist and Berkeley Carroll helped nurture that dream. The school’s Science Research and Design program especially prepared me to dive into actual scientific literature as I never had before and do my own, original research. I am now in my sophomore year at Bowdoin College and am planning to double major in biology and philosophy.

A BC “lifer,” I felt more than prepared for college when I arrived at Bowdoin. I already knew how to read and understand scientific literature, plus, I could formulate hypotheses and propose procedures for testing them — skills that helped me excel in my study of biology. My experience in the Science Research and Design Program also primed me for my time as a research intern at Solvuu, a genomic software engineering company, where my main responsibility was to read and summarize journal articles on genomics.

In addition to accelerating my scientific career, Berkeley Carroll taught me how to write at a college level. I didn’t like to read as a kid, but it was my seventh and eighth grade English teachers — Ms. Berkeley and Ms. Goldberg — who helped me enjoy it for the first time. Good writing comes from good reading and I’ve been writing ever since. In Upper School I got to know my teachers outside of class and have stayed in touch with many of them since graduation.

Outside of academics, the school’s Peer Leadership program helped me learned to listen to others and gave me an extra burst of social confidence. Plus, it was my experience in theater and choir that taught me how to budget my time — additional know-how which has helped me do well in college.

Berkeley Carroll introduced me to an interdisciplinary set of analytical skills which have applied to many different classes I have taken in college, including anthropology, ancient philosophy and introductory chemistry. I feel ready for the rest of my time at Bowdoin and beyond.