November 24, 2025

Her first year was spent at a big state university. The second year, she transferred to a smaller one. But it wasn’t until she stepped away from school entirely that she began to figure out what she truly wanted. “I took some time off, which I think was honestly pretty integral to me finding this place because, in all that time, I was able to find out a little bit more about who I was and what I wanted from a school and from an education.”

She Googled colleges with alternative education programs. “I knew I didn't want the typical college experience,” she said. Living in Philadelphia at the time, she applied to Bennington on a whim, got in, and drove up to Vermont. “I was skeptical at first, even after I decided to come, but I took the leap of faith,” she said. “And it's the best decision I've ever made.”

Part of her skepticism came from relocating from a city to a community of 1,000 people. “But that ended up working out so well because I've discovered that I really thrive in this sort of smaller community where I can really get to know people.”

Her first semester at Bennington was a process of trial and error.

“I just tried the things that I thought I wanted, and I found out that I actually didn't really want to do them. And it was great because I could pivot. And there's just so many resources here that I could find what really worked for me.”

After studying communications, film, and environmental studies, she worked on a farm in the Burlington, Vermont area. It clicked. “I study Agriculture and Food Studies, [which] makes much more sense for me now. It’s more tangible, and the impact is more direct. Farming is one of the most human things to do.” 

Through classes with John Hultgren, Foley has learned how to think critically about the world we live in and how agriculture relates to bigger economic and political and social systems. “[Those classes] helped me find the path of study that feels most aligned with my values.” This past summer, she worked on the campus’s Purple Carrot Farm. She created a food forest on campus as a part of her advanced work. 

“This school is genuinely like what you make of it,” said Foley. “You can give yourself the experience you want by just self directing."

"If you decide you want something, there are tons of resources and professors and programs and whatever you need, but you have to have the initiative. You figure it out by just being here.”

Foley graduates at the end of this term. “It's so bittersweet,” she said. “I am very excited because I have such a great community here, and there's so much love that I have for this place and the people here. That has given me a standard that I can take into the future and also a foundation. I had this really good experience here because I was surrounded by artists and creative people and super passionate people and also this focus on self education. And so I figured out what worked for me.”

That future includes continuing the work she's started at Bennington. She aims to gain experience on a local livestock farm before gaining experience farming around the world through the Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF). “And then, I don't know. I want to work where community agriculture meets community and food. From my winding path, I've learned that I sort of bump into different experiences, so I'm excited to see what that brings.”