Why Kenyon College kicks ass

from Liberal Arts

Top 3 question I've been asked since moving from Portland, OR to Charleston, SC for med school - Where'd you go to college?  

I've learned that this question has three right answers - Clemson, USC (hint: not LA), or token small Christian college in South Carolina.  I feel like the odd one out.. my answer: uh, I went to a small liberal arts school in Ohio called Kenyon College - it was mostly rich hippies' kids.  

For all of you that don't know Kenyon - I thought I'd explain why Kenyon College kicks so much ass.  Here's the top 4 coolest things produced by Kenyon College:

4) Liberal Arts

The latest film from the star of How I Met Your Mother Josh Radnor (Kenyon alum).  Liberal Arts is about an alum of a small liberal arts college that at age 35 still can't figure out what to do with his life.  If it sounds like your life - you just might love this movie.  Plus, it was huge at Sundance.

3) Artists

HUGE shoutout to my friends who are seriously pursuing art.  Kenyon has a knack for incubating young people who say - I don't care about having a normal 9-to-5 job/2.5 kids/white picket fence, I just want to do something COOL with my life.  

I admire that attitude of not giving a shit what the world wants you to do.  

Follow Your Heart

Matt Davis [link to his website], - to explain Matt - whenever I hear about one of his projects I say to myself - only Matt Davis could come up with something that weird.  

My favorite - a collage entitled Follow Your Heart, in which Matt ran from Gambier to Granville - a full marathon - while wearing an EKG device that recorded every beat of his heart.

Sarah Dougherty, living in NYC (sidenote - I'm super jealous, is there any better city for an aspiring writer?) and repping her English major on her blog - Salt That.  She is passionate about language's right to absurdism.  

Geoff + Kathy = heart

2) Geoff Anderson

Another Kenyon artist, but one that deserves a special shoutout for just getting engaged to Kathy Lin, which he means he made his fiance the luckiest woman in the world.  He also put up with living with me for two years.  He doubles as a teacher and published poet - "Amen" [link here].

1) Walk The Moon

Sidenote - it's easier to be an artist when you're in the safe environment of the Kenyon College bubble, but after picking up that diploma it gets a lot harder - college loans pile up, your parents email every other day with temp job websites, all while your friends are getting paid and living large.  Except Walk The Moon didn't conform. They said fuck the world and kept doing what they love.  And they blew up.  

Maybe you've heard their song Tightrope on the new HP commercial.  Their first hit "Anna Sun" is equally amazing - it's named after a sociology professor I had at Kenyon.  In the words of lead singer Nick Petricca: 

"It's about college, don't be afraid to play."  

Huge shoutout to Walk The Moon, Matt, Sarah, Geoff and all the other unmentioned dreamers from Kenyon College.  Please keep playing.

See you on the other side,

from ken