Fatu Conteh ’10 chose Princeton because of its rigorous academics and excellent “no loan” financial aid program. Conteh was born in Sierra Leone, West Africa. When she was 13, her family came to the United States, eventually settling in Texas.

Conteh is impressed by her classes and professors, but she is even more amazed by the student community of which she’s now a member. “You plan on going to a study break for 30 minutes and end up talking to someone for two hours,” she says. “It’s very crazy.”

As vice president of the Class of 2010, Conteh sees her role as an opportunity to serve all of her new friends and classmates. “I came here and immediately started thinking I wanted to be really involved in Princeton,” says Conteh. “People said, ‘Don’t you want to see how your freshman year goes?’ but this is something I really want to do, so I might as well start early.”

One of her first duties as an elected student leader was to work with a group of 12 student volunteers to get 500 of her classmates to Connecticut to last year’s Princeton-Yale football game. It was easier said than done. “I almost got lost in New Haven!” laughs Conteh, who nevertheless managed to help get all the buses to the game in time to cheer Princeton on to a nail-biting 34-31 victory and a share of the Ivy League championship title.

Conteh also performs with the Black Arts Company drama troupe, is involved in the International Relations Council and participates in the Leadership and Mentoring Program, in which African American juniors and seniors help freshmen make the transition into college life socially and academically.

“Even though everyone here has a lot to do, they are very open to listening to you,” Conteh says of her friends, mentors and resident advisers.