As Colgate seniors near the end of their time on campus, it is important for them to recognize their interests and strengths. Jen Geffner knows exactly what she’s interested in.

“I like arguing,” Geffner announced, laughing. This statement is perhaps the most basic way to explain two of Geffner’s passions: debate and law.

Geffner is a member of Student Government, the Student Affairs Board and works as a Residential Advisor. However, it is Colgate’s Debate Club that she calls her “lovechild.” A four-year member, she has dedicated a lot of time to debate, including twic-a-week practices and countless hours traveling to different tournaments.

Though a big time commitment, Geffner names the travel involved as one of her favorite things about the club. She has traveled to Thailand, Oxford and Cambridge, England and all over the United States debating. Of course, her other interest in the club is the aspect of debate that involves arguing and deconstructing the arguments of others.

As a Philosophy and Political Science double major, Geffner keeps her passion at the forefront of her plans for next year. After graduating, she will either go on to law school or begin working in Washington, D.C. Geffner is interested in prison reform and criminal defense in the Capital, an area that first caught her attention last summer when she worked as an investigator for Georgetown Law School’s Criminal Justice Clinic. Her work involved going into prisons and areas in the district that are rife with poverty and crime-all of which she had never been exposed to before.

As sharp of a contrast as the comfortable Colgate bubble is to the Capital, she is far from bored here. Geffner is soaking up as much of Colgate as she can in these last few months. She is even going so far as to take five classes just because she’ll “never be able to take college classes again.” Geffner’s love of Colgate is due in large part to the people on campus.

“I love the faculty, the professors,” Geffner said. “They’re engaging, personable and helpful. They’ve shaped who I’ve become over the years.”

While Geffner tries to take advantage of everything Colgate offers, she hopes that younger students won’t wait until Colgate is over to realize what they have and to really make the most of their four years.

“Make college what you want it to be, not what you think it should be,” Geffner advised. “College is like a fantasy life.”