Why would anyone actually want to visit the Liberty Bell six times?

Why hello there. You are one of the lucky few who have been lucky enough to stumble upon the Haverford profile of Miss Angelique Bradford. Right now I am a first year (Class of 2013) and I'm from Belmont, MA. When I'm not in class or doing homework (and not organizing my collection of flannel shirts or jammin' on the uke) I spend my time singing with the all female a cappella group The Outskirts which I will be co-manager of next year with Gabi Winick. Recently I've also begun tutoring students in nearby Ardmore through Haverford's Eighth Dimension program, I participate in a lot of the activities that the Haveford Newman Center (Catholic) puts on, and next year I will be working in the admissions office as a tour guide.

(Let me now preface this next section with the fact that I am from Boston and I think it is the greatest city ever, but since I am not there now I want to turn my attention to another wonderful city which is Philadelphia.)

A HISTORY - When I applied to schools I thought I wanted to have a school that was in a city because of all the fun opportunities that a city has, but I also wanted a liberal arts education, but I don't know of any liberal arts schools in a city. Therefore, when I visited Haverford I forced my parents to take me into the city, a feat which all three of us expected to be long and arduous. To our surprise, it was only a 15-20 minute train ride with the station mere minutes from the center of campus (one point for Haverford). I think Haverford is one of very few liberal arts colleges this close to the city, but still far enough for those who want to spend their time on campus without the annoyances of a city school.

COMING TO HAVERFORD - My family and I decided to drive down to Philadelphia a few days before move-in-day so that I (we) could get a better feel of the city. When we were there we did all of the fun old city things such as Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and the like. A small exploration but still awesome and filled with AMERICAN HISTORY!!

AT HAVERFORD - Once I was at the school I was nervous that I would not be able to spend any time in the city of brotherly (and sisterly) love. Boy was I wrong. In just the first few weeks I got tickets from 'Fords Against Boredom (FAB) to see Regina Spektor, and I knew that the city and I would have a long and fruitful relationship. Here, in bullet form, are some of the other fun things I've done in the city this year (so far).

Concerts I've been to in the city:

• Regina Spektor (Electric Factory)
• Josh Ritter (Theater of the Living Arts)
• Flogging Molly (Electric Factory)
• A random multi-band concert (The Trocadero)

Museums:

• The Philadelphia Museum of Art
• The Academy of Natural Sciences
• Philadelphia Folklore Project

Other awesome things I've seen/been to:

• The Liberty Bell
• South Street
• Northern Liberties
• Ben Franklin Parkway
• Walking along Fairmount Park
• The Avenue of the Arts (also I need to see music at the Kimmel Center)
• Ice Skating on Penn's Landing
• Saw the Lion King musical (thanks FAB!)
• Midnight Cheesesteak run to Pat's King of Steaks (thanks again FAB)

HOW HAVERFORD WILL GET YOU INTO THE CITY - If you are looking at Haverford, accepted, attending, or just curious, let me tell you that you don't have to be as city explorative as me if you want to get into the city. As I mentioned before, FAB does tons of things to bring students into the city. Our Student Activities coordinator also can give out tokens to a group that wants to do something in the city as long as you email him. Lastly, and my favorite, Haverford House is a group of recent Haverford graduates who live in West Philly and work at social justice centered jobs provided by the CPGC. This spring break, I stayed at Haverford House with the fellows to work at Alternative Spring Break, which was amazing.

MORAL OF THE STORY - There are so many amazing things about Haverford that it is hard to talk about them all. I wanted to focus on Haverford and Philadelphia's link which I think is sometimes overlooked. Also, if you want to know more, or just say hi,  email me at abradfor@haverford.edu

Oh, and to answer the question at the top of the page, I've been so much because it is just so awesome.