Article written by: Victor Dankens

Winston Antoine (21), is a Baltimore native who has been part of the Bowdoin Bound program since the age of 10 and is currently a student at Bowdoin College.

Winston simply says it was “fun” and that was more than enough to convince him to return each year.

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Winston over dinner to discuss a little bit of what Bowdoin Bound means to him and where he is now as a result. As a small 10-year-old child, Winston experienced his first summer as a Bowdoin Bound camper. He recalls enjoying the excitement of the day camps, the catchy songs played there and of course the delicious food served by the college dining services. Winston recounts stories of the intriguing people he met and befriended despite claiming that he was a shy child. After a wonderful first year, he continued to return each summer because to him it was an escape from Baltimore, an opportunity to see something else, to feel free. Given his parents support of the program, he was able to participate for a total of seven summers. Winston simply says it was “fun” and that was more than enough to convince him to return each year. As a high school student, Bowdoin Bound allowed Winston to educate himself about the college process, allowing him to learn about schools across New England, understand financial aid, and master college interviews as well as the common application essay.  Winston was admitted to Bowdoin in 2012 as part of the Class of 2016

Winston is now a rising senior at Bowdoin College. He chose his college mostly based on financial aid and was fortunate to be given the help required for him to go to school. He was interested in marine ecology at first, but finally decided to major in Romance Languages. Taking classes in Spanish, French, and Italian, Winston admits the workload is quite intense. I asked him if he was disappointed that this was his last year at Bowdoin, and he responded that he was ready to leave the constant essay writing behind and explore the real world. Winston envisions himself working as an English TA in Spain in the near future.  Though he doesn’t know what he wants to do in the long run, Winston knows his connections with Bowdoin will help find him a good job that will surely make him happy.