In the Light – Grace Buckley

Grace Buckley did not always know that Colgate University was the school for her. In fact, prior to enrolling at the school, she had doubts about attending college altogether. “I didn’t know if I wanted to dance or go to college,” she said. After much deliberation, she put off applying and auditioning for dance and pursued an undergraduate education.

Upon arriving at Colgate, Buckley thought she would completely have to give up her dance ambitions. “I didn’t think they had a dance program at Colgate,” she admitted. “You know, everything is student run,” However, after briefly dabbling in SGA for a semester, Buckley became heavily involved in two of the dance groups on the Colgate campus. “I didn’t expect it at all,” she said.

Buckley explained that it was important for her to continue to incorporate dance into her life. “My mom put me in ballet when I was three,” she said. A classically trained ballerina, Buckley didn’t branch out into other areas of dance until she arrived at Colgate. Now she is a member of Kumba and the captain of Groove, two of the talented dance teams on campus. “I did ballet for my own personal achievement, not to perform,” she explained. Now Buckley is thankful that her training in ballet has given her solid technique, enabling her to pick up other forms of dance with relative ease.

While at Colgate Buckley thought she had dismissed any plans to pursue professional dance; instead she decided to major in political science and even took her studies to Florence last spring. Yet, despite the many distractions Colgate has loaded upon her-the intense work load, the abundance of activities, going abroad-she has once again decided to pursue dance, and this time as a career. “It’s scary, risky, unreliable,” she said. “I know what I’m getting into.” Buckley’s plans include moving to the New York City area and teaching at a dance school in addition to taking classes to refresh her dancing technique.

“Senior year is bitter-sweet,” she said. “At this point I’m ready to go. I’ve done everything I’ve wanted to. But I’m definitely sad to leave everything. Buckley summed up her experience over the last four years with the words of an alumni: “He was the key-note speaker. I thought it was so cool-He said that Colgate University was his sixth choice, but the reason he keeps giving back to it is because he looks back on his experience with gratefulness. And I hope that’s what happens for all of us.”