Hajna J. Nagy

hnagy@bates.edu | she/her
Admission Counselor

Originally born in Wisconsin amidst the “Big 3 C’s” (cows, corn, and cheese), Hajna grew up in the forests and fields of both Wisconsin and Central Maine – eventually graduating from a small, rural public high school in Readfield, Maine about 40 minutes away from Bates. A lifelong love for learning and community, as well as the desires to stay in her home state and pursue multiple paths of study, led Hajna to attend Bowdoin College – a fellow Maine NESCAC school  – where she graduated in 2022.

Hajna arrived at Bowdoin interested in neuroscience; however, in a very liberal arts way, took an environmental and gender studies course her first year and was immediately hooked. As a result, she pulled a complete 180 her sophomore year and settled on a Government & Legal Studies and Environmental Studies double major, with a double minor in Gender, Sexuality, & Women’s Studies and Sociology. With this, Hajna discovered she could combine her love of the outdoors and consequent desire to protect these places with her passion for working with, empowering, and providing opportunities to youth – leading her to pursue a career in outdoor education, conservation, and environmental justice!

While at Bowdoin, Hajna threw herself into this realm: running the America Reads program tutoring at local elementary and middle schools, facilitating Real Talks on Socioeconomic Class amongst Bowdoin students, serving as an ambassador for the Bowdoin Public Service cohort, and as an active leader of the Outing Club. She spent her summers working for various environmental nonprofits, both Maine-based and nationwide, including The Nature Conservancy, Defenders of Wildlife, JustME for JustUS, The Climate Initiative, and Maine People’s Alliance, where her work encompassed everything from campaign work and policy research to mobilizing youth and base-building across organizations.

Having spent the last two years teaching and traveling (she went on a cross-country road trip to various National Parks in May/June 2024!), Hajna is excited to be back where it all started: the type of engaged community and holistic, intellectual environment you get at a liberal arts college. Her desire to expand equitable access to education to youth from all backgrounds, especially those who are underrepresented, is what drew her to this work and Bates in the first place (with its longstanding history of inclusivity). At Bates, Hajna hopes to help students from all areas see what’s possible, serving a community in a “full circle” moment, assisting students through a transition which opened so many doors for her. 

In her free time, you will unsurprisingly find Hajna outside: hiking, skiing (alpine and nordic), swimming, camping, paddle boarding, hammocking with a book, or being a fiend with a frisbee (please duck if you ever see her on the quad). She also has an insatiable sense of wanderlust and is always down for an adventure: traveling, visiting friends and family, attending concerts, or walking her golden retriever Bodhi around town.