Hi! My name is Em Friedman, and I am so excited to be working with the ANST department this year. I am a senior, double majoring in American & Native American Studies and Education. Within ANST, my coursework focuses on women’s studies, public health, and spirituality. I enjoy studying how seemingly universal systems of care—education and healthcare—are deeply stratified and shaped by legacies of colonialism, racial capitalism, and patriarchy.

I came into Vassar with intended majors in Sociology and Political Science, but quickly realized that I didn’t want to be confined to the parameters of a single discipline. After the gentle persuasion of a friend, I enrolled in ANST 105, and within a couple of days was confident this would be my major. My focuses within ANST have evolved as my passions have, and I firmly believe that my American Studies major has given me the language to approach any academic field with interdisciplinarity, criticality, and curiosity.

For the past two summers, I’ve been a teaching intern at a boarding school, teaching in the social studies department and advising students as they write the summer session newspaper. Before joining the ANST department, I worked with the Infant Toddler Center, the Office of Engaged Pluralism, and the Joss House team.

When I’m not studying or persuading friends to take an ANST class, I sing with Measure4Measure Acapella, crochet, bake, read, and am an avid iced latte connoisseur.