Although Phil Waller grew up in the city, he enjoys the village atmosphere that Kenyon has to offer. He found the College such a refreshing break from Cincinnati, Ohio, his hometown, that he decided to become a summer admissions tour guide after his sophomore year.

He likes the fact that the Kenyon campus flows through and around the village of Gambier. "Students are in Gambier every day, whether they are getting a bite to eat at the deli or the Middle Ground Café, shopping at the bookstore or the market, or checking mail at the post office," Waller says. He sings with Community Choir, a group of musicians drawn from both Kenyon and the surrounding area. And, he is often involved with community service activities as a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity.

Originally intending to major in economics, Waller enrolled in Introduction to Psychology, with assistant professor Paula Millin, during his first year. The course was life changing. "I loved it so much that I started to rethink what I would do," Waller says. At that point, he decided to double-major in economics and psychology. "Those two majors go hand-in-hand," he says, noting that each discipline sheds light on different areas of human behavior. "A major assumption of economics is that people act rationally. Psychology says, 'No, they don't.'"

Invigorating coursework reaffirmed Waller's college choice. He sought information on football teams when looking for a college, but he refused to let sports alone dictate his final choice. "I knew that, if football wasn't part of my life anymore, I would have to like the school," Waller says.

Now, as a tour guide, Waller can share with prospective students what he likes most about Kenyon: its academics and the interchange between campus and community.