I went to a community college in an urban setting, and was living at home, but I really like the small school setting and the people are so nice here.—Maria Swanson '27
Maria Swanson ’27 is a transfer student from North Shore Community College in Swampscott, Massachusetts, enrolled in the Sustainability program and will be transferring to Environmental Science, with a minor in Biology in the next term.
As part of the Adirondack Studies class—a required first-year class to acclimate students to the area—they go into the field to study the environment and draw what they experience.
“In the Adirondack Studies class we delve into the history of the area and we visited the Six Nations Museum recently. While we are out in the field, I’ll do the line work of my illustrations, which usually takes about 20 minutes per page, and then do the coloring when I get home,” Maria explains.
It Came From the Basement
Maria, and fellow student Adam Ruiz ’26, from Irondequoit, NY, use Prismacolor pencils and Pilot G2 pens. “My uncle was cleaning out his basement—he stores a lot of meat in several freezers—and in the process of cleaning, found that he had all these art supplies taking up room [in the basement, not the freezer]. The Prismacolors were in an old box, so I took them and am still using them,” Maria recounts, “and the Pilot G2 pens are the best!”
When she’s not out in the field, illustrating the Adirondacks, Maria says the best things about Paul Smith’s College are that she can sit by the lake, go swimming, or take a hike, right from campus. “I went to a community college in an urban setting, and was living at home, but I really like the small school setting and the people are so nice here.”
Maria didn’t know anything about Paul Smith’s College, in fact, never heard of it, while she was at North Shore. So, how did she end up coming here?
Keep On Truckin’
“Funny story! My boyfriend was driving home from Skidmore College, when his car spun out. He ended up staying over at a Love’s Truck Stop near Albany, and at 3:00am, he ended up getting a sandwich from Subway and talked to the sandwich artist,” Maria relates, “The sandwich artist was on break from Paul Smith’s and told my boyfriend how much he loved it, and what a great school it is. He then calls to tell me that he’s fine and that, hey, I found a perfect college for you!”
And that’s how Maria became a Smitty.