My name is Anna Kurien, and I am freshman here at Manhattanville College. I graduated from Scarsdale High School in 2017. I chose Manhattanville College because I wanted to better my education and figure out who I want to be in the future. I am from a town about 15 minutes away from here called Scarsdale, NY. I plan on staying on campus for the first year and then next year I will commute. I came in undecided as my major, but I am thinking of majoring in childhood education. I've always loved kids and seeing them grow. I have been babysitting for many years now and I am also a swim instructor and lifeguard at my local pool. I also had the opprotunity to intern at my old elementary school towards the end of my senior year and I got to experience what it is really like being a teacher! Teaching is one of my greatest passions and I can't wait to see what the future holds for me. 

Being here at Manhattanville has been life changing so far. I have learned to do so many things on my own, especially with class work. In high school, I struggled a lot with anxiety. I wasn't the best student and I would always hate myself everytime I would recieve a bad grade. When I opened up to more people about my anxiety, my life got turned upside down. I recieved great advice from my family, friends, and even teachers at my high school. I hold that advice in my heart to this day and I am getting better controlling my anxiety. It is difficult a times, but when you take some time to focus on yourself, you will feel 100x better. I hope to experience new experiences here at Manhattanville. I hope to power through all the struggles that I experienced in high school and to improve on my time management skills. I am glad that I am here at Manhattanville and I look forward to the next 4 years!