Name: Amanda Watters ‘02
Hometown: Southboro, MA
Major: Religious Studies/Asian Studies and Biology
Activities: Cross-country and track teams, South Asian Bollywood Association, Students for A Free Tibet, Artists’ Guild, Religious Studies Teaching Assistant in two courses (Islamic Traditions, Mystery and Meaning), India Program, recipient of University fellowships for research in the United States and abroad.

I’m asked all the time if my studies of religion conflict with my studies in biology, as if the two fields are mutually exclusive! At St. Lawrence I was able to make the fascinating intellectual cross-over. For example, in the new neuroscience program we study effects of meditation on the brain.

Spending a semester in India has been a highlight of my time at college. It was simply amazing. I got support from the University to travel throughout the country studying a minority religion, Jainism. After I came back I received a fellowship to travel in the United States comparing practices of Jainism here and in India. I plan to return to India after graduation. This time I hope to learn more about traditional Indian music, a new interest of mine encouraged by the music professors here at St. Lawrence.

It’s great to be involved in something like SABA (South Asian Bollywood Association). We have a lot of fun promoting awareness of the Asian culture on campus. We organize celebrations of Asian holidays, like Divali, a Festival of Lights. Last year we co-sponsored with Java Coffee House a fundraising concert for the victims of the January 2001 earthquake in India. This year we’re planning a concert to benefit children in Afghanistan.