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At the end of every ³Ô¹ÏÍø tour, after they’ve finished stuffing your brain with information, every tour guide tells the story of why they chose Whitman.

Some of the stories are a bit frivolous—who chooses a college because they really liked the pancakes?—while others are deeply moving. Whatever the story is, I believe it’s the most important part of the whole tour. So, I’ve decided to skip straight to the storytelling today. Here’s why I chose Whitman.

At the end of my junior year—the typical time to tour colleges—was rudely interrupted by a global pandemic. I’m sure you all know the rest of that particular story. I spent the next year adrift in my own broken expectations. I was depressed and I couldn’t seem to get excited about college even though I knew that I really wanted to go. 

At the time I was invited to attend an Admitted Student Day at Whitman, I was still pretty unsure about where I wanted to go. Nowhere really seemed to call out to me but I was determined to try to find my place. 

My mom and I drove out to Walla Walla the day before my admitted student day—a.k.a. . That first night, we visited First Avenue Plaza and grabbed food at Sweet Basil Pizzeria across the street. The atmosphere of the plaza was warm and bright. At a nearby table, a group of college students were laughing and I felt more alive than I had in quite a while.

The next morning it was finally time for Spring into Whitman Day and my tour guide was phenomenal. Her name was Liv and she’s now a recent grad. She was obviously super excited to be at Whitman and to be sharing it with all of us. Her energy was infectious! Pretty soon, I was asking all sorts of questions—the kind you ask when you’ve already fallen in love with the school but don’t know it yet. I asked about student traditions and swimming holes near campus and if I was allowed to pet the ducks. For the first time in a year, I was excited for the future.

I chose Whitman because it became clear to me that Whitman students are intensely passionate, friendly, and earnest people. After a very lonely year completely lost in the drag of quarantine, Whitman was the light at the end of the tunnel.

Zoe Perkins ‘25 is a Rhetoric, Writing and Public Discourse major from Hillsboro, Oregon. Zoe is also a tour guide because she wants to give students the same opportunity to experience the wonders of ³Ô¹ÏÍø that Liv gave her.