Toni Seaberry ’05 never wanted to be just another face in the crowd. When she came to Princeton, she wanted to make an impact, get involved, and make a difference. How did she do that? Student government.

Seaberry served as vice president of the Class of 2005 during her junior and senior years. She calls class officers “the first line of defense for the class.” They stand as liaisons between the students and the administration on every issue that affects student life whether it’s academic, social or personal.

“We had meetings with [University president] Shirley Tilghman all the time,” says Seaberry, who couldn’t imagine a more powerful, or more immediate, learning experience. “At a very young age, obviously very uninformed, you have to perform at a level you’ve never performed at before. You’re sitting in front of the president of the best university in the country. You have to come in with hard-core facts and really be able to articulate what you want to say in a way that’s thoughtful and meaningful.”   

Seaberry’s involvement at Princeton didn’t end with student government. She was also a resident adviser for two years. As a minority affairs adviser, she dealt specifically with issues of race, gender, sexuality and religion.

She remembers the annual campus-wide meeting on race. “We create a place for discourse,” Seaberry says. “We know that everyone is different and everyone has a different understanding of race, but to be able to voice your opinion and to disagree with someone openly, that is what Princeton fosters and that is the most valuable asset to the campus.”

When Seaberry thinks about Princeton now, she appreciates even more the "no loan" financial aid program, which offset her cost of attending the University using grant money that she wasn't expected to pay back.

“I have friends who are up to their eyeballs in student loans,” says Seaberry, who works as an analyst for the global banking firm UBS. “When my parents saw [the "no loan" program], they said, ‘Forget about all the other ones. You’re going to Princeton!’”