Hometown: Salem, Va.

Education Accessible
For Leanna Minix '12, The Davidson Trust took the hardship out of financing a college education. "Without the Davidson Trust, going to school here would not have been possible for me," she said, "but the Trust made this school more accessible than any other institution-state or private. There was no way I could turn down this opportunity."

Home Away From Home
While many enter the land of the unfamiliar for college, Minix said, "I wanted to come back to what I felt like was home." With family roots in nearby Mooresville and extended family still in the Lake Norman area, she has made frequent visits to the Davidson area since her youth. A new academic life in a place she could clearly envision was hard to resist.

The Right Combination
A liberal arts education gave her the opportunity to change her mind. The now-English and philosophy double major "started out pre-med, but then I took some English classes, and I decided that I wanted to be an English major. Then I read Kant in Dr. Kuzmanovich's Literary Criticism class." Reading Kant's Critique of Pure Reason showed her an intersection between literature and philosophy that she wanted to pursue, so she declared a second major in philosophy. "I'll write a thesis on literary philosophy next year," she said.

The Media Future
Minix spent the summer before her junior year working at MLM Media Partners, Inc., a small advertising and media agency. "Working in advertising has completely changed the way I look at perception and interpretation," she said. At her job, she analyzed different advertising techniques and measured public responses. "Davidson set the foundation," she said. As for the future, she's still considering her options."I'd love to use my media skills to run a political campaign."