Dresden McIntosh Farrand '02

Ph. D Candidate
St. Louis University
Major at Wooster: Communication Studies

Dresden McIntosh Farrand arrived at Wooster passionate about theatre, fresh from two years in London where she had fallen in love with the performing arts. She remembers the class where she discovered a new interest—one that would launch a career. “It was a political communications class with Professor Bostdorff, where we read political speeches, dissected their messages, and looked at their societal and political implications. It was interdisciplinary and so am I (I don’t like to be pegged); I loved it.”

At Wooster, McIntosh Farrand volunteered with political campaigns and interned at a daycare outreach program, where she developed and presented curricula designed to engage children in activities that explored diversity. And, of course, she worked on her junior and senior Independent Studies, in which she researched how black humor affects stereotypes and prejudices. She remembers learning skills in critical thinking, analysis, and —above all—how to be an excellent writer. “I was fascinated with putting words together, and used the College’s Writing Center religiously for all of my classes.”

I.S. Opens Doors

McIntosh Farrand attached the first two chapters of her senior Independent Study (I.S.) to resumes and letters of application for graduate programs, and doors began opening. “People always wanted to talk about my I.S.; they were always surprised that an undergraduate could accomplish that level of writing and research,” she remembers. Soon after graduation, she landed a job as campaign manager for Planned Parenthood’s Public Policy division, where she played a role in re-branding the organization’s message and helped to organize one of the largest marches in women’s history, the 1.7 million strong March for Women’s Lives.

From there she attended graduate school at the University of Missouri-Columbia and served as a lobbyist and adviser to student legislative programs for the Associated Students of the University of Missouri. “I learned a lot about local issues, but my dream was always to live abroad and work in international diplomacy and human rights issues. As a black woman, I knew I’d need a Ph.D. to be competitive in that area.”

For her Ph.D., McIntosh Farrand went to Saint Louis University, where she is researching health management policy as it relates to mass migration in volatile times. She will write her dissertation in Geneva, Switzerland, where she will intern with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

In addition to her I.S. experience, McIntosh/Farrand said she highly valued her interaction and friendships with international students at Wooster. “When you graduate, people are not just black and white; they are every color and every religion under the sun. A college should not be just black or white. It should reflect the world.”