Meet Princeton!

On this Veterans Day, we share with you Kaller Roemer's story. A U.S. Army veteran and member of Princeton's Class of 2023, Kaller talks about his winding path to the armed forces, family support and how he focused in on Princeton. His interview marks our fourth episode of season two and our final one for the semester. We hope you are inspired by Kaller's story and others. Thanks for listening.

About Kaller Roemer:

Kaller Roemer '23 is president of both Princeton Student Veterans and the Ivy League Veterans Council. Before coming to Princeton, he served in the U.S. Army as an Infantryman with the 10th Mountain Division and deployed to Iraq as a Fire-Team Leader. He is studying Political Economy and Entrepreneurship and is involved with the Princeton Entrepreneurship Club and the Princeton Golf Club. Kaller is excited to continue to advocate for veteran representation in academia and provide resources for enlisted student-veterans entering their professional career. Kaller is interested in pursuing a career in business and finance and is supported by his wife, Jessica.

Show Notes:

• Princeton Veterans Alumni Association PVETS
• Princeton Student Veterans Association
• Campus Veterans Day Service
• ROTC Tiger Battalion
• Alex Bustin, senior associate dean, director of Transfer, Military and International Admission, can be reached at [email protected].
• Yellow Ribbon Program
• Service to School
• Warrior Scholar Project
• Leadership Scholar Program
• Reunions
• Academic Advising
• The Ivy Eating Club
• James Madison Program
• Emma Bloomberg Center for Access and Opportunity
• 501(c)(3) Ivy League Veterans Council
• Veterans Suicide Hotline (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs)
• Veterans Homeless Programs (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs)

Co-Hosts: Vivian Slee, senior assistant dean of admission, and Bryant Blount '08, assistant dean of undergraduate students and manager of strategic communications Producers: Vivian Slee and Mary Buckley, associate dean, strategic communications, Office of Admission Editor/Sound Engineer: Nick Donnoli, Orangebox Productions Sound Engineer: Molly Trueman '24 Logo Design: Esteban Aguas '19, admission officer

The theme music to our podcast was created by Molly Trueman '24. Molly plans on majoring in music with a potential certificate in Applications of Computing. Outside of class, she is part of Glee Club, Chamber Choir, and the Tigressions, a contemporary all-female a cappella group. While she has been practicing voice and piano since age six, within the past year—especially during quarantine—she has become more passionate about songwriting and music production, leading her to create music for this podcast.

What does it take to be a leader? Christian Potter '22 thought about this a fair amount during the last few years. It wasn't until he stepped into the role of president of Undergraduate Student Government (USG) during a pandemic that he truly understood the qualities needed to get the job done. Tune in to learn about Christian's year of leading, listening and learning.

Christian is a senior from the Washington, D.C., area concentrating in the School of Public and International Affairs. He is a Peer Academic Advisor in Mathey College, a member of the club tennis team, and an undergraduate fellow of the Center for International Security Studies. He also serves as the President of the Undergraduate Student Government and recently joined Orange Key.

View the transcript.

• Peer Academic Adviser
• Mathey College
• Residential College Adviser (RCA)
• Zee Group
• School of Public and International Affairs
• The Precept System
• Undergraduate Student Government
• McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning
• The Writing Center
• Outdoor Action
• Community Action
• Tigers in Town
• Princeton's need-based financial aid program

It's National Transfer Student Week! In this episode, we hear from Alejandro Garcia, a member of the Class of 2022, about the many factors he considered in determining his educational path and how a service-focused curriculum has shaped his Princeton experience. But first, Dr. Keith Shaw, director of transfer, veteran and non-traditional student programs in the Emma Bloomberg Center for Access and Opportunity, offers an overview of the support and resources available to transfer students and his own advising role within the programs.

Princeton's Transfer program, which was reinstated in 2018, looks for a small group of exceptionally well-prepared students from a range of backgrounds, and we particularly encourage applications from students from low-income backgrounds, community college students, and U.S. military veterans.

Alejandro Garcia is a politics concentrator pursuing certificates in Latin American studies and American studies at Princeton University. As a member of the second group of transfer students admitted to Princeton, Garcia holds an associate in arts degree from the Miami Dade Honors College in political science. Prior to transferring, Garcia was recognized as the top transfer student in Florida and among the top ten transfer students in the nation as a Hites Transfer Scholar, All-USA Academic Team Scholar, and New Century Transfer Pathway Scholar. He was also recognized with the Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship, the most prestigious transfer scholarship recognition. Garcia's professional and research interests lie in the intersection between law and political institutions, as he aspires to improve access to civil rights, education, and professional opportunities for underdeveloped and underrepresented Hispanic communities. At Princeton, he serves as a co-founder and president of the Princeton Transfer Association, a student organization focused on representing, advocating, and improving Princeton's non-traditional student and transfer experience.

Dr. Keith Shaw is the Director of Transfer, Veteran and Non-Traditional Student Programs. A native New Jerseyan, he earned his B.A. in history at Rutgers, and his doctorate in political science at Stanford. At Princeton, Keith teaches the transfer cohort's Writing Seminar, "Everyone's an Expert," along with the academic writing curriculum for the Warrior-Scholar Project.

Welcome back! We're excited to roll out our next season of the admission podcast "Meet Princeton!" In celebration of the new school year, we invite two very special guests to the show. Jill Dolan, dean of the college, and W. Rochelle Calhoun, vice president for campus life, are responsible for shaping the academic and social experiences at Princeton. They sit down in conversation to discuss the challenges—and opportunities—in the year ahead.

Jill Dolan is the senior officer responsible for Princeton's undergraduate academic program. All matters relating to the curriculum, academic advising, academic regulations and scholastic standing fall under her aegis. Dean Dolan also oversees the Offices of Admission and Undergraduate Financial Aid, the Registrar, the Office of International Programs, the Program in Teacher Preparation, the Princeton Writing Program, the Princeton University Preparatory Program, the McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning, the Freshman Scholars Institute, the Program of Freshman Seminars, the Scholars Institute Fellows Program, Health Professions Advising, the Program in Community Engaged Scholarship, the Office of Undergraduate Research, and the residential colleges.

Dean Dolan is the Annan Professor in English, and a professor of theatre studies in the Lewis Center for the Arts. She served for six years as the director of Princeton's Program in Gender and Sexuality Studies, and is a faculty affiliate of the Program in American Studies. She holds a PhD in performance studies from New York University.

W. Rochelle Calhoun has administrative oversight for matters that help to shape the student experience at Princeton, including athletics and campus recreation, career services, health services, religious life, diversity and inclusion, residential life, service and student activities.

She began her career in college administration while still a graduate student at Columbia University working with Playwrights Horizon Theatre to coordinate curricular and co-curricular programs for their NYU students. She joined her alma mater, Mount Holyoke College, as an assistant dean of students responsible for working with students of color and cultural organizations. She held several other student affairs positions at Mount Holyoke, including director of diversity and inclusion, associate dean of the college and acting dean of the college, before joining Skidmore College, where she served as dean of students and vice president for student affairs. She came to Princeton in 2015.

Currently, Rochelle serves on the McCarter Theatre Center Board of Trustees and The Paul Robeson House Advisory Committee in Princeton, New Jersey. She also serves on the Corporation Visiting Committee for the Division of Student Life at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Previously, Rochelle's community volunteer services included membership on the board of directors for Home Made Theater, Saratoga Springs New York; Saratoga Springs Sponsor a Scholar; and Planned Parenthood, Saratoga Springs, New York. Rochelle served a two year appointment as the president of the board of directors for Girls, Inc. of Holyoke, Massachusetts. She has served as a parent member of her children's School Councils; Community Trustee of the local United Way; on the board of directors for the National Conference for Community and Justice Western Massachusetts, and the University of Massachusetts/Amherst Fine Arts Center. Rochelle was elected to the South Hadley, MA School Committee where she served two years.

Calhoun received a bachelor's degree in theater arts and politics from Mount Holyoke and a master of fine arts degree in theater from Columbia.

Have a question for the Admission Office? Submit one to our mailbag. We will answer a few on air. (We'll only mention your first name and hometown!)

Co-Hosts: Vivian Slee, senior assistant dean of admission, and Bryant Blount '08, assistant dean of undergraduate students and manager of strategic communications Producers: Vivian Slee and Mary Buckley, associate dean, strategic communications, Office of Admission Editor/Sound Engineer: Nick Donnoli, Orangebox Productions Sound Engineer: Molly Trueman '24 Logo Design: Esteban Aguas '19, admission officer

The theme music to our podcast was created by Molly Trueman '24. Molly plans on majoring in music with a potential certificate in Applications of Computing. Outside of class, she is part of Glee Club, Chamber Choir, and the Tigressions, a contemporary all-female a cappella group. While she has been practicing voice and piano since age six, within the past year—especially during quarantine—she has become more passionate about songwriting and music production, leading her to create music for this podcast.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and we'd like to use this podcast to share the ways in which students can support their health and wellbeing at Princeton. We are joined by Allen Liu '22, an operations research and financial engineering concentrator and founder of the Undergraduate Student Government Mental Health Task Force. Allen talks about navigating the stressful moments of college, why he decided to seek professional counseling, and the ways in which the task force has made services more accessible to all. Dr. Calvin Chin, director of counseling and psychological services, starts the episode with information about the free mental health services available to students at Princeton, as well as the many support resources in place at the University.

Have a question for the Admission Office? Submit one to our mailbag. We will answer a few on air. (We'll only mention your first name and hometown!)

Co-Hosts: Vivian Slee, senior assistant dean of admission, and Bryant Blount '08, assistant dean of undergraduate students and manager of strategic communications Producers: Vivian Slee and Mary Buckley, associate dean, strategic communications, Office of Admission Editor/Sound Engineer: Nick Donnoli, Orangebox Productions Sound Engineer: Molly Trueman '24 Logo Design: Esteban Aguas '19, admission officer

The theme music to our podcast was created by Molly Trueman '24.

Molly, a rising sophomore at Princeton, plans on majoring in music with a potential certificate in Applications of Computing. Outside of class, she is part of Glee Club, Chamber Choir, and the Tigressions, a contemporary all-female a cappella group. While she has been practicing voice and piano since age six, within the past year—especially during quarantine—she has become more passionate about songwriting and music production, leading her to create music for this podcast.

Show Notes:

University Health Services

Counseling and Psychological Services

Dr. Calvin Chin, director of counseling and psychological services

Operations Research and Financial Engineering

Letters to Strangers

USG Mental Health Resource Guidebook

Community Action

We meet again in 2021 with a very special two-segment interview. Dean Slee and Dean Blount sit down with Claire Wayner '22, a civil and environmental engineering concentrator from the Baltimore area, to discuss engineering at Princeton, her passion for sustainability and finding her fellow "bird nerds" on campus. But first, Dean Blount is joined by Claire White, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, to discuss her love of teaching undergraduates "who strive to make the world a better place."

View the transcript.

Show Notes:

• Chemical and Biological Engineering (CBE)
• Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Wintersession
• Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment
• Professor Claire White
• School of Engineering and Applied Science
• Academic Advising
• Independent Study
• The Senior Thesis
• Environmental studies
• Sustainable Energy
• Office of Sustainability
• Birding Society
• JRN 240 / CWR 240: Creative Nonfiction with Professor John McPhee
• Team Climbing
• Princeton Reunions
• PCUR Blog
• Wintersession: Tracy K. Smith in Conversation with Jericho Brown and Danez Smith, hosted by the Lewis Center for the Arts

Have a question for the Admission Office? Submit one to our mailbag. We will answer a few on air. (We'll only mention your first name and hometown!)

Co-Hosts: Vivian Slee, senior assistant dean of admission, and Bryant Blount '08, assistant dean of undergraduate students and manager of strategic communications Producers: Vivian Slee and Mary Buckley, associate dean, strategic communications, Office of Admission Editor/Sound Engineer: Nick Donnoli, Orangebox Productions Sound Engineer: Molly Trueman '24 Logo Design: Esteban Aguas '19, admission officer

The theme music to our podcast was created by Molly Trueman '24.

Molly, a rising sophomore at Princeton, plans on majoring in music with a potential certificate in Applications of Computing. Outside of class, she is part of Glee Club, Chamber Choir, and the Tigressions, a contemporary all-female a cappella group. While she has been practicing voice and piano since age six, within the past year—especially during quarantine—she has become more passionate about songwriting and music production, leading her to create music for this podcast.

In our 4th and final episode of 2020, we drop in on a conversation between Karen Richardson '93, dean of admission, and Matt Alander, director of admission. Longtime admission professionals and colleagues, Dean Richardson and Matt cover many admission-related topics including the Princeton supplement, in addition to what's on their music playlist this reading cycle. Plus, a few current undergraduates call in to respond to our simple yet personal question: "Why Princeton?"

View the Transcript

• Distribution Requirements
• Liberal Arts
• Degrees & Departments
• Orange Bubble
• Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students
• Dean Richardson's blog
• Changes to Princeton application cycle for 2020-21
• The Princeton Supplement
• Pace Center for Civic Engagement
• Broadway Playlist on Spotify
• The Met Museum Cloisters
• Department of Politics (Dean Richardson's concentration)
• The Senior Thesis
• Study Abroad
• Novogratz Bridge Year
• Frist Campus Center
• 'A New Museum for Princeton'
• Two New Residential Colleges, completed in summer 2022
• Senior Step Sing under Blair Arch (2018)
• 'Eric and Wendy Schmidt endow new professorship of Indigenous studies at Princeton'

Have a question for the Admission Office? Submit one to our mailbag. We will answer a few on air. (We'll only mention your first name and hometown!)

Co-Hosts: Vivian Slee, senior assistant dean of admission, and Bryant Blount '08, assistant dean of undergraduate students and manager of strategic communications Producers: Vivian Slee and Mary Buckley, associate dean, strategic communications, Office of Admission Editorial Consultant: Veronica Salazar, senior assistant dean of admission Editor/Sound Engineer: Nick Donnoli, Orangebox Productions Sound Engineer: Molly Trueman '24 Logo Design: Esteban Aguas '19, admission officer

The theme music to our podcast was created by Molly Trueman '24. The outtro is brought to you by the Princeton University Chapel Choir with University organist Eric Plutz. The featured piece, 'Oh God, Beyond All Praising, is composed by Gustav Holst, and arranged by Richard Proulx. The Choir sings this piece at Opening Excercises at the beginning of every academic year.

Meet Molly Trueman '24:

Molly, a rising sophomore at Princeton, plans on majoring in music with a potential certificate in Applications of Computing. Outside of class, she is part of Glee Club, Chamber Choir, and the Tigressions, a contemporary all-female a cappella group. While she has been practicing voice and piano since age six, within the past year—especially during quarantine—she has become more passionate about songwriting and music production, leading her to create music for this podcast.

Douglas Robins ʼ23, from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, talks about University access and support on episode three of our "Meet Princeton!" podcast. From a class with Eddie Glaude, Jr., the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and chair of the Department of African American Studies, to his very first encounter with a Princeton alumnus, who is a member of the Great Class of 1963, Douglas reflects on some of the more memorable moments he's had thus far.

This podcast is a production of the Princeton University Office of Admission. The opinions expressed herein represent the views of the individuals involved, not those of the University.

View the transcript.

• Financial Aid Estimator
• No-Loan Financial Aid Policy
• Cost of Attendance
• SIFP (Scholars Institute Fellows Program)
• Study Abroad
• Bryant's recommended sourdough bread recipe and baking guide from "Lemons and Anchovies," blog adapted from Ken Forkish's book "Flour Water Salt Yeast"
• Annual Giving Fund
• ASC (Alumni Schools Committee) Interviews
• Precept
• Eddie Glaude, Jr., the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and chair of the Department of African American Studies
• McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning
• The Writing Center
• College Staff, First College
• Mock Trial
• Orange Key Tours
• Matriculate
• Late Meal
• Murray Dodge Cafe
• Freshman Seminars
• Vivian's favorite key lime pie recipe from food writer and cookbook author Melissa Clark (via Today.com)
• Princeton University Orchestra

Co-Hosts: Vivian Slee, senior assistant dean of admission, and Bryant Blount '08, assistant dean of undergraduate students and manager of strategic communications Producers: Vivian Slee and Mary Buckley, associate dean, strategic communications, Office of Admission Editorial Consultant: Veronica Salazar, senior assistant dean of admission Editor/Sound Engineer: Nick Donnoli, Orangebox Productions Sound Engineer: Molly Trueman '24 Logo Design: Esteban Aguas '19, admission officer

The theme music to our podcast was created by Molly Trueman '24. The outtro is brought to you by Princeton University Orchestra, featuring the end of the first movement from Bruckner Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major, Romantic. It was recorded at the 2019 Winter Concert Preview in Alexander Hall's Richardson Auditorium.

Molly, a rising sophomore at Princeton, plans on majoring in music with a potential certificate in Applications of Computing. Outside of class, she is part of Glee Club, Chamber Choir, and the Tigressions, a contemporary all-female a cappella group. While she has been practicing voice and piano since age six, within the past year—especially during quarantine—she has become more passionate about songwriting and music production, leading her to create music for this podcast.

The Princeton University Orchestra (PUO) is the flagship symphony orchestra of Princeton University and is one of the most prestigious and highly acclaimed collegiate orchestras in the country. At more than 120 undergraduate-musicians strong, PUO holds eight annual performances in Alexander Hall and tour internationally in a typical year. Since 1977, Maestro Michael J. Pratt has served as the music director for the ensemble.

In episode 2, we meet with Gabriel Duguay '22 to discuss community on campus from student-run clubs to a meal with friends in one of the residential college dining halls. In addition to participating in debate panel and the scramble band, Gab, a native of Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada, is the founder of the Princeton Indigenous Advocacy Coalition and serves as a member of the Provost's Priorities Committee. We also sit down with Momo Wolapaye, director of student life at Whitman College, one of Princeton's six residential colleges, to talk about his role in helping students acclimate to campus life.

View the transcript.

• Princeton University Band
• Momo Wolapaye, Director of Student Life, Whitman College
• Residential Colleges
• Office of the Provost Priorities Committee
• Residential College Advisers (RCAs)
• Clash of the Colleges
• Community Action
• Davis International Center
• Office of Disability Services
• The Writing Center
• McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning
• 'Zee' Group
• Butler College
• James Madison Program
• University Councilor, Undergraduate Student Government
• Council of the Princeton University Community
• Quadrangle Club (Eating Club)
• Cheese and Bad Movies Club
• Student Group Recognition Committee
• Princeton Footnotes

Co-Hosts: Vivian Slee, senior assistant dean of admission, Bryant Blount '08, assistant dean of undergraduate students and manager of strategic communications Producers: Vivian Slee and Mary Buckley, associate dean, strategic communications, Office of Admission Editor/Sound Engineer: Nick Donnoli, Orangebox Productions Sound Engineer: Molly Trueman '24 Logo Design: Esteban Aguas '19, admission officer

The theme music to our podcast was created by Molly Trueman '24. The outtro music is brought to you by Princeton Footnotes, one of the many talented a cappella groups at Princeton.

Meet Molly Trueman '24:

Molly, a rising sophomore at Princeton, plans on majoring in music with a potential certificate in Applications of Computing. Outside of class, she is part of Glee Club, Chamber Choir, and the Tigressions, a contemporary all-female a cappella group. While she has been practicing voice and piano since age six, within the past year—especially during quarantine—she has become more passionate about songwriting and music production, leading her to create music for this podcast.

Meet the Princeton Footnotes:

The Princeton Footnotes have been providing fresh, all-male a cappella to Princeton University for more than half a century. Founded in 1959, the group's repertoire spans decades of music and an astounding variety of genres: from Frank Sinatra to Taylor Swift to Phish. The Footnotes was recently selected as a top 32 collegiate a cappella group from more than 160 video entries in the first-ever UpStaged National Collegiate Performing Arts (NCPA) A Capella competition to raise funds for a social justice organization of their choice. [Source: The Daily Princetonian]

In our first episode of "Meet Princeton!" Morgan Smith '21, a concentrator in the School of Public and International Affairs from the Los Angeles area, shares her story about discovering a love for politics and civic engagement. Morgan talks about the Princeton initiative "Vote100" and the moment she discovered "that Princeton magic." Co-hosts Vivian Slee, senior assistant dean of admission, and Bryant Blount '08, assistant dean of undergraduate students, sit down to talk about their interview with Morgan and to contextualize the many programs she references. Plus, our very own Dean of Admission Karen Richardson gives some advice to class of 2025 applicants.

• How to Apply
• Programs of Study
• No Loans Financial Aid Policy
• ODUS (Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students)
• Student Life
• SPIA: Princeton School of Public and International Affairs
• Certificates in African American Studies (AAS)
• Whig-Clio (American Whig-Cliosophic Debate Society):
• Vote 100
• Black Arts Dance Company
• Pre-health Advising at Princeton
• Politics department
• Distribution Requirements
• Pre-Law
• Undergraduate Student Government
• "Princeton in the nation's service and the service of humanity."

Co-hosts: Vivian Slee, senior assistant dean of admission, Bryant Blount '08, assistant dean of undergraduate students and manager of strategic communications Producers: Vivian Slee and Mary Buckley, associate dean, strategic communications, Office of Admission Editor/ Sound Engineer: Nick Donnoli, Orangebox Productions Sound Engineer: Molly Trueman '24 Logo design: Esteban Aguas '19, admission officer

The theme music was created by Molly Trueman '24.

Meet Molly Trueman:

Molly, a rising sophomore at Princeton, plans on majoring in music with a potential certificate in Applications of Computing. Outside of class, she is part of Glee Club, Chamber Choir, and the Tigressions, a contemporary all-female a cappella group. While she has been practicing voice and piano since age 6, within the past year—especially during quarantine—she has become more passionate about songwriting and music production, leading her to create music for this podcast.