January 29, 2008 

Dear Mr. Strauss,

Intersession has finally arrived and once again I find myself amazed at how fast the 
previous semester has flown by. The transition from under- to upperclassman has brought 
along with it a number of changes—academically, athletically, and socially—all of which 
have helped me to gain a greater sense of independence and maturity. Before updating 
you on Princeton happenings, though, I will give you a brief review of what turned out 
to be quite an adventurous summer.

After competing in the 3000m steeplechase at the NCAA Regionals in Gainesville, FL 
in May, I returned home to Minnesota for two weeks to unwind and prepare for a 
summer abroad. In the middle of June I left for Beijing, China, with the men's and 
women's track and field teams, where we climbed the Great Wall, walked through the 
Forbidden City, cruised the lake at the Summer Palace on dragon boats and competed in 
a meet at Beijing University. 

We then flew to Xi'an where we visited the famous Terra Cotta Warriors and walked on 
one of the most well-preserved ancient city walls in all of China. Our last stop was 
Shanghai—a bustling city with a palpable Western influence, which we all thoroughly 
enjoyed. 

After making a 24 hour pit stop at home during which I spent the majority of the time 
either sleeping or repacking, I flew halfway across the globe in the opposite direction to 
Rome where I spent the remainder of the summer interning at an NGO called 
"Bioversity International." Located just outside of Rome, Bioversity is the world's 
largest international research organization dedicated solely to the conservation and 
use of agricultural biodiversity. While there, I worked for the Public Awareness unit, 
writing articles on everything from coconuts to climate change and Bolivian potato 
farmers for their yearly publication. I was very fortunate to have had another girl from 
Princeton working at the same organization—we lived together and traveled together on the 
weekends to places like Tivoli, Florence, Naples, and, our favorite, the island of Capri.

Though my summer was at times challenging and involved a great deal of hard work— 
in addition to working full time I studied for the MCAT and ran about 69 miles a week—it 
was a wonderful whirlwind adventure that I will always look back on with a smile. 

When I arrived back on campus for pre-season cross-country training at the end of 
August, I could sense right away that it was going to be a great season. We were all in 
great shape and had managed to get some of the best recruits in the country. Our 
commanding win at HYP in September set the tone for the rest of the fall, during which 
we were undefeated until the NCAA Championships.

Perhaps the biggest highlights were wins at the NCAA Pre-Nationals meet, the Ivy 
League Heptagonal Championships and the District Championships. Though the 
National meet was a bit of a disappointment, it was nonetheless an incredible season 
overall. I made the jump from being middle-to-end of the pack runner sophomore year 
to running on the Varsity squad all season. For this, I was voted "Most Improved" at the 
year-end banquet. 

Even more of an honor, though, was being elected co-captain with my good friend 
Jolee Van Leuven for next year. I look forward to taking on a more active role in 
organizing team events and mentoring my younger teammates. Before then, though, 
my sights are set on going as far as I can in the steeplechase this spring—namely, the 
NCAA National Meet, which just happens to be conveniently located a few hours 
from home in Des Moines, Iowa. 

Perhaps one of the biggest changes academically for me this year has been adjusting 
to a significantly larger volume of written work than in previous years. Now that I have 
completed all of the basic science pre-med requirements, my classes are less focused on 
memorization and more on synthesizing material and composing papers that reflect what 
we have learned both in class and independently throughout the semester. As much as I 
may have complained about the numerous written assignments, though, I feel that this 
shift in course work has nonetheless improved my research and writing skills and 
prepared me well for future independent work.

As I have mentioned previously, I am currently majoring in EEB (Ecology and 
Evolutionary Biology) and pursuing a certificate in neuroscience. As such, my spring JP 
will serve as a proposal for my thesis, which I am planning on doing research for this 
summer in a Neuroendocrinology lab at the University of Minnesota. The tentative 
topic is circadian rhythms and stress. I am hoping that this experience will help me to 
decide whether an M.D. or an M.D./Ph.D. program would be a better fit for me. 

Being an upperclassmen has brought with it a number of changes not only in terms of 
academics and athletics but also in everyday life. Graduating from the residential college 
system and joining an eating club has been a great experience. Ever since I became a 
member of Cap & Gown in the spring I have been loving every minute of it. Whenever I 
go to the club I feel like I can walk in, join any table, and end up having a great 
conversation with friendly, genuine, people (who also tend to be partial to sports). As a 
member of an eating club I have also have the privilege of meal exchanging with friends 
from other clubs which I have tried my best to take advantage of. 

Perhaps the most difficult thing about reflecting on my time at Princeton thus far is coming 
to the realization that I only have three semesters left. I dread the thought of leaving the 
Princeton community—of not being within walking distance of my closest friends, not 
being able to go on Sunday morning runs with my teammates, not donning the 
Princeton "P" in races and not being able to take courses with some of the best 
academics in the country. As I look back on all of the fond memories I have made, I try 
to remind myself not only that there are sure to be many more to come, but that none of 
them would have been possible without the help of the Class of 1972. I am incredibly 
grateful for your support of my education here at Princeton and am equally inspired to 
give back to future students as you have done for me. Thank you again.

Sincerely,

Megan Brandeland'09