Abbie LeBlanc: Letter to a Future STUdent

HELLO FUTURE STUDENT,

My name is Abbie LeBlanc, and I started my Bachelor of Arts at STU in 2015. At the time, I didn’t really give a lot of thought to where I ought to go to university. I grew up in Fredericton and knew I wanted to do a Bachelor of Arts, so STU seemed like a natural choice.

ACADEMICS & CLASSES

Looking back, I was lucky. I started at STU in the Aquinas program, where I realized what it was I wanted from my degree: the chance to read, discuss, and write about lots of different books. I continued doing this over the next four years, as I majored in Great Books, Political Science and Human Rights. Presently, I’m a PhD student in political theory at Harvard, still doing the same kind of work that initially drew me to STU.

SMALL CAMPUS, STRONG COMMUNITY

STU wasn’t just incidentally the place where I developed this understanding of what kind of career and life I wanted. The people and community at STU made this possible. In all my departments, I got to know my professors individually. I also often knew most of the people in my major, and discussions started in class would continue around campus. While I’m obviously a nerd, I also made friends, not only through classes, but through STU’s Women’s Rugby Team, the Moot Court Team, and other extracurriculars.

WHERE STU CAN TAKE YOU

After graduating from STU, I completed a masters in Political Science at McGill in 2021 before starting my PhD at Harvard. While these bigger institutions have their own virtues, I wouldn’t have felt prepared to navigate them without the sense of self and of community I developed during my time at STU. So, if you are in the process of giving a lot of thought about where to attend university, I hope this letter might give you a sense of what STU offers.

Sincerely,

Abbie LeBlanc