Brent J. Jarkowski, from Pasadena, Maryland – “When I decided that I wanted to come to Bates, my parents’ friends used to ask them ‘Why Maine, from Maryland, why would he go to Maine?’ and my parents would tease and say ‘Well, he always hated us the most.’ And now I think, after four years and seeing the young man that I’ve become, I think my parents realize, and they told me this last night — which meant so much — is that I love myself enough to challenge myself to come to a place where I could be an individual and really just foster that. And Bates has been that place for me.”