Laura Dominguez '05
"Guilford is eclectic.There are so many different kinds of people from every walk of life and so many different ideas. But they mesh together. You will see the oddest pairs of people talking."
Laura Dominguez makes no bones about the fact that one of her main requirements for choosing a college was that it be away from the cold and snow of her native North Syracuse, New York. She came south to visit other schools and happened to drive by Guilford's campus.
At Guilford, she found not only Southern temperatures, but also Southern charm. "I just saw it and I said this is where I want to come to school. It felt like a second home," Dominguez said.
Right away, Dominguez,whose father is Native American, plugged into the Native American program. "It's more than a club, it's been a great support system," she said.
Dominguez tries to extend that welcome to new students and also to the community at large. She participates in the Bonner Scholars Program for students who are committed to community service.Last semester, Dominguez worked with the Greensboro Housing Coalition to help repair homes for low-income families and has also worked with both children and elderly people. This semester, she is studying abroad in the college's program in Brunnenburg, Italy.
Like many students, Dominguez is interested in psychology and is majoring in the subject. But she has a different goal than most: she wants to be a criminal profiler for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. She 's interested in seeing how criminal minds work.
She's also interested in how the minds of her classmates work. "I like getting in heated discussions in class. It has expanded my horizons quite a bit," she said. "Even if you don't necessarily believe in something, your professors want you to investigate it. Some things I've actually changed my mind on."