“On Reading the Application” is a recurring series that goes behind the scenes in the Admissions Office at Bard College Berlin. When applying to colleges, it’s easy to forget there are human beings on the other side of the application portal. Not all college admissions offices are alike, and Bard College Berlin’s approach to college
A Reflection on “Get Engaged: Student Action & Youth Leadership Conference”
I was enjoying a cup of espresso macchiato with conference-provided sandwiches next to the Danube river while you, my fellow schoolmates, were being crushed under the heavy burden of midterms. Before you start feeling jealous of my one-week privilege, let me clarify two things: The conference was busy enough that we were not able to
Getting Dirt-y with “Prost to Compost”
“So you begin to wonder if [the city’s] true passion is the enjoyment of new and different things, and not, instead, the joy of expelling, discarding, cleansing itself of a recurrent impurity… Street cleaners are welcomed like angels, and their task of removing the residue of yesterday’s existence is surrounded by a respectful silence, like
#6 Let’s Talk About Pankow Conversations
The first of the three planned Pankow Conversations took place on October 9th, 2017. This civic engagement project is a collaboration between BCB students, faculty, staff and alumni, various activists across Berlin (such as the Berlin Storytelling Arena), and the Pankow Bezirksamt. Every event is translated into German, English and Arabic. In this podcast, we
The Continued Adventures of a Clown: A follow up with Veronika Rišnovská
A few days ago I followed up with Veronika Rišnovská about her clowning project. The project is part of the Civic Engagement initiative at Bard College Berlin. It aims to train students as medical and social clowns so they can bring joy to children in hospitals, orphanages, and refugee camps in Berlin. Since our last
An Interview with a Clown
Veronika Rišnovská leads a civic engagement project at BCB descriptively entitled “Clowning!”. She holds weekly workshops where she trains students to interact with kids from difficult social backgrounds through improvisation and play. Once trained, the clowns, complete with red noses, visit refugee camps, hospitals, and special needs classrooms. I recently interviewed Veronika and asked her
GET ENGAGED: Student Action & Youth Leadership Conference, Istanbul 2015
The March 2015 spring break at Bard College Berlin was perhaps one of the most eventful holiday weeks. From the group trip to Budapest, to Morocco vacationing, and lastly, to the Bard/HESP Network Student Conference in Istanbul, everybody had their days full with new experiences and interesting people that furthered knowledge. My spring break adventures