Despite Elizabethtown College being a small school compared to most of the colleges in the area, it is nearly impossible to know all of the students on campus. Each one of them has their own unique story on how they came to attend Etown, and it is important to know that each has value. One such example is the tale of first-year Neil Divins.
Divins comes from Huntingdon, Pa., which is about a two hour drive from campus. When he speaks of home, it’s a fond feeling even if it is not the place for him.
“It’s a rural area, but it’s my hometown,” Divins said.
Divins is a chemistry major who hopes to pursue green energy creation. The start of this passion was built from when Divins was a child and found himself susceptible to internet scams about the world ending. While eventually he realized that they were fake, he saw one thing that actually was a real threat to the planet: climate change.
“I still remember one time I went on Facebook to chat with my sister, and I saw one thing that unironically said that Ragnarök was going to happen. I was upset for the rest of the day,” Divins said.
It is possible that Divins’ love for all things science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) related comes from his family. His sister, a 2017 Etown graduate, was a computer science major. Both his parents also work in science, so Divins was always surrounded by science.
“My mom would always tell me stories about her time testing [the] safety of the different companies,” Divins said. “She would always say they’re the bad ones!”
Divins has taken several classes at Etown for his major, but his favorite is one that might be surprising. Many students will express their hatred for organic chemistry because of how notoriously difficult the content is, but Divins is not one of them. He enjoys trying to find different perspectives in order to understand the problems presented to him.
“I can’t see how a single person can’t enjoy the class because the teacher, Dr. McKay, is so passionate,” Divins said.
Throughout Divins’ two semesters at Etown, he has had time to experience different things that makes Etown such a great campus. His favorite one, however, is the ramen from the Fresh Nest in the Bowers Center for Sports, Fitness and Well-being.
“I was like oh my god they have an authentic ramen shop!” Divins said.
Despite only being in college for a small amount of time, Divins already has a good schedule set that balances his study and self-care. He dedicates some time out of his day for his favorite hobby: playing video games.
“I play R[ole] P[laying] G[ames], action adventures and sometimes, I’m down for a puzzle game,” Divins said.
With his hobby, Divins has found a way to improve his writing skills while also talking about something he loves. He used a website called ggapp.io to keep track of his vast collection of video games. About a year ago, he decided he wanted to try blogging about his experiences and his reviews on certain games, so he created his blog, ‘Cryophage.’
“It is just part of the hobby. I like talking about them with people, so I thought I could turn it into a lucrative business,” Divins said.
As Divins is a first-year student, he resides in one of the first-year dorms, Schlosser Residence Hall. He has to have experienced many of the things that make it loveable like the flooding.
“I met a lot of my friends here, and then, I found out they all lived in Schlosser,” Divins said. “Plus, honestly, all the crises to happen in Schlosser is just funny.”
Good luck to Divins as he finishes out his first year of college and throughout the rest of his career!
