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Date September 10, 2026
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Driven by discovery: Meet five members of Brown’s Class of 2030

Five of Brown’s newest students discussed their academic ambitions, from medical research to music, what drew them to College Hill and their hopes for the four years ahead.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Members of Brown University’s Class of 2030 have moved into residence halls, navigated a packed schedule of New Student Orientation events and passed through the iconic Van Wickle Gates to symbolize the start of their Brown education as they celebrated the University’s 263rd Opening Convocation.

With the first day of classes in the books, first-year students are diving into the Open Curriculum, exploring dynamic courses during “shopping period,” joining student organizations and carving out their own academic paths paved by intellectual curiosity.

In these Q&As, five members of the Class of 2030 reflected on why they chose Brown and their hopes and ambitions for the next four years. 

Aeris Wren

Vancouver, British Columbia

Aeris WrenQ: What drew you to Brown? 

I’m someone who has a lot of intense interest in rather different areas. I really like neuroscience, cognitive psychology and biology, but I also have a massive passion for writing and the literary arts. I think Brown’s Open Curriculum is one of the only places that I can really find an intersection between the two and be able to either double concentrate, which I’m thinking about, or keep both of those as things that I can continuously learn from.

Q: If you could design your dream college course, what would it look like? 

I think my absolute favorite dream course would definitely be a first-year seminar, because I really like how they’re smaller and more discussion focused. I learn better that way.  It would probably be some form of dismantling of psychological and psychiatric diagnoses. This is a passion of mine to research, and that would be very cool to go into.

Q: What issues are you eager to explore during your time at Brown? 

I’m very interested in getting more involved with social issues and advocacy — I do a lot of advocacy for neurodivergent individuals — and I’m curious about what that environment is like here at Brown as well. I think Brown is going to be the perfect environment for me to expand my worldview. I come from a rather small high school in Canada, and I think this is the place to meet new people, learn a lot about their stories and different causes that they resonate with.

Ashley Graham

Atlanta, Georgia

Ashley GrahamQ: If you could design your dream college course, what would it look like? 

My dream course would be something with cancer, maybe breast cancer.  Research is my thing. I love it. That’s what my class would be — you get a lab, a good mentor and you just go nuts with whatever research you want to pursue. That’s the dream. 

Q: What issues are you eager to explore during your time at Brown? 

There’s this gene that I’ve been studying, the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene. It gives you almost a 50% to 80% risk increase of being diagnosed with diseases like breast cancer, ovarian cancer and fallopian tube cancer. The only preventative measures if you have this gene are basically surgeries; there are no medications you can take. So that’s what I’ll be looking into: What can we do for these people who have this gene? How can we make their lives better or prevent them from getting cancer? 

Q: Did you bring any keepsakes or mementos to remind you of home? 

I brought pictures and some of my art stuff because I love to paint. I brought my Xbox — that’s the love of my life. What else did I bring? Well, I brought my mom, but she said I can’t keep her here. 

Edward Iancu

Brooklyn, New York

Edward IancuQ: What drew you to Brown? 

I like the interdisciplinary passions that I can pursue through the Open Curriculum. I want to pursue mechanical engineering, but I also have interests in fields like applied mathematics, finance and economics. So I want to pursue those different fields all together, and I thought that Brown would be a great way to do that.

Q: Did you bring any keepsakes or mementos to remind you of home? 

I brought a blanket that I’ve had since I was born. My parents wrapped it around me as we left the hospital, and I decided to bring it here with me to Brown. I’ve had it almost 18 years now, so that’s pretty cool.

Q: What are you most looking forward to as you settle into life at Brown? 

I’m most excited to meet people, get to know my professors, and just gain a new sense of community here in Providence. It’s a welcome change of pace from New York City.

JJ Rodriguez

Newburyport, Massachusetts

JJ RodriguezQ: If you could design your dream college course, what would it look like? 

Definitely something about music during revolutions and how music can be used to make political change. Those are two of my main interests and I’d love to put them together. 

Q: What issues are you eager to explore during your time at Brown? 

I want people to have more empathy and see what others are going through, and at Brown, there are so many diverse perspectives. I think I’ll really get a good handle on that and see where everyone comes from and why people do the things they do.

Q: Did you bring any keepsakes or mementos to remind you of home? 

I brought all my music stuff, like my keyboard and guitar. I’m excited to play music and jam with people. I’ve already connected with a few. I’m just looking forward to doing that. It helps keep some balance in my life and it’s something I like to do.

Lily D'Ordine

Rhinebeck, New York

Lily D'OrdineQ: What drew you to Brown? 

The reason that I looked at Brown was because my dad went here and he also grew up in Providence. Then when I actually toured, it was the kind of environment I was interested in. Brown was so focused on learning and you could take so many different classes and just do whatever you were interested in, which really was what I wanted.

Q: If you could design your dream college course, what would it look like? 

I feel like I there wouldn’t be one class that is my dream class — I need a variety of topics. I’m super interested in chemistry and other sciences, but also like history and things like that. Earlier in the summer, I saw Brown was offering a class called Chemistry and Art, and I thought it sounded awesome. That’d be a super interesting one to take. 

Q: What issues are you eager to explore during your time at Brown? 

I hear a lot about people in the queer community and people with disabilities who experience issues with medical professionals not listening to their needs or not fully trusting or believing their lived experiences, so that’s something I’d like to remedy. I'm not sure if I want to go into medicine, but if I did, that would be a big reason why — to help people get the healthcare that they need. That’s a big issue that I want to do something about.

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