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Why Skidmore? Pursuing interdisciplinary passions. [Video]

October 25, 2018
by Jesse Epstein '19

I thought there wasn't a college out there for me. I had too many disparate interests. Then I found Skidmore. 

Now, I'm the director of Skidmore EMS, an admissions ambassador and Hillel leader. I spent a semester in London and am now helping other students make the most of their time abroad as a peer mentor. And last but not least, I'm contributing to some exciting research working in the Positive Psychology Lab.

Suffice it to say, I think I found my place.

My story 

Something that’s unique about the Skidmore community that I’m immensely proud of is our care for interdisciplinary passions. 

Ultimately, the reason I chose Skidmore is that I couldn’t find any other place I visited that encouraged me to explore all of my different passions.

I’m currently the director of Skidmore College Emergency Medical Services. My passion, as a result of working EMS at Skidmore, has evolved into a life-long dream and goal of working with EMS providers from a psychotherapy standpoint.

I thought at first, "Okay I’ll be a psychologist and maybe volunteer with a local EMS agency." But I’ve discovered over time here in my experiences and talking to people that I really can merge those passions and develop a completely new field that doesn’t exist.

Mental health for providers is a hole in our market right now and it’s a gap that I want to fill. I want to develop programs and protocols and write books on it. I also want to help other people and come give talks here when I’m an alumnus to get other people interested in the field. I want to give back to the community when it’s my turn.