News Center

By Nahla Bendefaa

A fascination with logic and a dream of becoming a cardiovascular surgeon is what brought Alexander Marrero ’18 to Allegheny College.

Alexander, from Hawley, Pa., enrolled at Allegheny to pursue his interests in pre-medicine and philosophy.

Alexander was introduced to Allegheny last spring during his senior-year overnight visit when he got the chance to tour the campus and talk to representatives from the admissions office. But what convinced him to attend the College was the “feeling” of the campus, where the student-to-faculty ratio is 11:1, says Alexander.

“I felt like I found a place where I can thrive emotionally and mentally, especially considering the relationship between professors and students,” he says. “I would not be able to have that had I been competing with 50,000 other students.”

During his first month on campus, Alexander immersed himself in the community — both on and off campus.

Alexander secured a seat on the Allegheny Student Government as a senator for the Class of 2018. He also instructs martial arts at the Tank Su Do Academy in downtown Meadville as part of the Dance and Movement Studies program. In addition to that, Alexander is collaborating with the YMCA in Meadville on a martial arts instruction program.

He says he would like to combat poverty and homelessness in Crawford County through the YMCA programs. “I want to provide the children in the area with a positive path to follow so they can grow and expand in their knowledge of what actually exists around them,” he says.

Not only is Alexander a social worker and budding leader, he is also an artist. He is a self-taught pianist, and you can find him on many days in Ford Chapel practicing on the concert Steinway piano for two to three hours.

Of his affinity for music, he says, “It’s my way of expressing myself — putting into music what I can’t put into words. I am not fitting my schedule around piano, I am fitting my schedule around something that is necessary for me to function. Not that I am taking music over my grades or anything.”