Dan Siegelman

Now a business development specialist at an AmLaw 100 law firm, Dan Siegelman was a two-year Great Books camper, and four-year program assistant at the Amherst campus. In between summers working at Great Books, he attended Swarthmore College, where he studied History and Political Science.

Dan shared, “Great Books deeply shaped  how I view the world, and broadened my horizons—I met so many people who were so different from me, and yet we all shared the same love of literature and learning. I felt like I was constantly developing new skills which still are hugely informative to who I am as a person. As a camper, the program feels like a microcosm of college: you have high level discussions led by professors, live in the dorms, and get to explore so many new things; Great Books definitely teed me up for the liberal arts education I pursued.

At camp, I learned how to read between the lines and against the grain to uncover hidden meaning; to be comfortable with nuance and uncertainty when interpreting texts; and how to disagree with others in a meaningful and productive way. Those skills are not limited to English or Philosophy—they were useful to me all the classes I took, be they history, biology, or economics.

In some ways, the most important thing Great Books gave me was the gift of curiosity–in college and in my role now, wanting to know more, and knowing which questions are the right ones, sets you apart. At Great Books, curiosity like that is infectious. I am certainly a better person for the summers I spent there.”