Catching up with Kara Grossman
Kara Grossman is a long way from home, but she’s comfortable with her decision to accept a generous scholarship to Tulane University where she is keeping busy with a slate of challenging courses and exploring New Orleans in her free time.
“While I do miss Huntington, I'm so excited to be here and so happy that I chose to go to Tulane,” Ms. Grossman said. “I'm positive that it was the perfect choice for me and I'm so excited about what I'm going to do in the future.”
Ms. Grossman, who graduated from Huntington High School last June as one of the top members of the Class of 2009, is enrolled in introduction to psychology, calculus, cultural anthropology, American Makeovers, a writing class where students read, discuss and write about the American fascination with physical transformation and self-fashioning and Interpretation of Dreams.
“At Tulane we have freshman courses called TIDES classes, which stands for Tulane Inter-Disciplinary Experience Seminars,” Ms. Grossman explained. “Being enrolled in a TIDES class is required of first semester freshmen and is formatted to be fun and interesting.”
Like many college freshmen, Ms. Grossman is weighing her academic and career options. “Right now I am in the school of liberal arts, but I am strongly considering transferring into the A.B. Freeman School of Business, possibly to major in management, but I'm still uncertain about that,” she said.
At Huntington High School, Ms. Grossman played on the varsity tennis team and was a member of the Natural Helpers, which consists of students who have been picked by their classmates and given specialized training to help their peers solve all types of personal problems. She was well-liked and was known as a nice young woman, well-spoken, well-mannered and studious.
As the days pass, the Huntington grad is settling in to her new surroundings. “I'm still adjusting and deciding which clubs and organizations I want to be a part of, but I am going on my first Habitat for Humanity build the first weekend in October and I'm so excited,” Ms. Grossman said. “I'm also very interested in participating in any type of community service here. I really want to feel like I helped rebuild New Orleans. Tulane also has a great Greek system which I am definitely looking into as well.”
The road to Tulane was an interesting one. “When I was applying to colleges I knew that I wanted to go to a school that has warm weather year round, but I did not know where I really wanted to be,” Ms. Grossman said. “Tulane presented the perfect setting for me. It is just fifteen minutes from downtown New Orleans, so it's not directly in the city, though the campus is still somewhat urban. Tulane's campus is in a beautiful area of the ‘Garden district’ of uptown New Orleans, right across the street from a park and surrounded by mansions on St. Charles. I am in love with the area and with New Orleans.”
Since she has arrived, the weather has been “gorgeous” in New Orleans, Ms. Grossman said, except for one week where it poured rain every day. “The weather is unpredictable,” she said. “Like yesterday, when I woke up at 8 it was beautifully sunny and hot, but by 12 there was a thunderstorm and downpours.”
Louisiana might be far from Huntington, but at least there’s a familiar face on campus. Dan Akerley, a fellow member of the Class of 2009 and one of Ms. Grossman’s best friends is also a student at Tulane. “It has made adjusting easier for me, but I didn't know any older students down here upon my arrival,” she said.
All graphics, photographs, and text appearing on the Huntington Public Schools home page and subsequent official web pages are protected by copyright. Redistribution or commercial use is prohibited without express written permission. Comments or Questions? email the Public Information Office