When Brady Burman first arrived at Sarah Lawrence College from San Diego, he brought with him a wide range of interests — environmental science, biology, sociology, and a deep love of basketball — and a curiosity about how they might come together. As a first-year student, he shared that curiosity on camera for SLC’s episode of The College Tour, an Amazon Prime series highlighting student experiences. Now, as a graduating senior, Brady looks back on that moment not as a snapshot, but as the beginning of an evolution.
From Curiosity to Focus
“Those interests have stayed with me,” Brady reflects, “but they’ve also grown.” What began as a broad curiosity about science and society has taken shape in a focused pre-health path, complemented by extensive work in Latin American studies. That interdisciplinary approach — the hallmark of a Sarah Lawrence education — allowed Brady to connect scientific inquiry with social context, particularly in areas like public health.
Central to that journey were the relationships he built with faculty. As his don, Michelle Hersh (biology) once helped Brady acclimate to college life. She now supports him in a different way: writing letters of recommendation for graduate school.
Hersh recalls a paper Brady wrote his first year exploring Cuba’s urban agriculture through the interdisciplinary lenses of ecology, environmental science, economics, and public health. “That paper,” Hersh shares, “won SLC’s Spencer Barnett Memorial Prize for Excellence in Latin American and Latinx Studies — one of the first ever Barnett winners in the sciences.”
“I’ve been able to connect with nearly all my professors,” Brady says. “That’s something really unique to Sarah Lawrence.” In one case, that connection extended beyond the classroom: his journalism professor, Marek Fuchs, is also a volunteer basketball coach, blending academic and athletic mentorship in a way that reflects the College’s integrated ethos.
Learning Through Experience
Some of Brady’s most impactful experiences came from courses that brought him face to face with people outside the classroom. In a class led by Ann Hepperman (writing), he interviewed families, in English and Spanish, who were visiting loved ones at an ICE detention center in Newark, NJ, for a podcast he produced exploring the human experience of immigration policy. For another course, taught by Fuchs, he traveled to a maximum-security prison to meet with an incarcerated individual and reexamine the details of their case.
“Those experiences really built perspective,” Brady reflects. “They changed how I see the world.”
“I think Brady is an exemplar of the kind of education that Sarah Lawrence offers — immersive, community-focused, and one that really challenges students to push themselves to make work that is of a professional level” says Hepperman.
On the Court and in the Community
On the court, Brady found a similarly collaborative environment. As a member of the men’s basketball team, he played alongside teammates from across the country and around the world (including Australia, Turkey, and Switzerland), each bringing their own perspective. Over four years, the team grew not only in diversity but in success, advancing from ninth in their conference to three straight semifinal appearances.
Recently, Brady was one of ten NCAA Division III men’s basketball players in the nation to be recognized as a finalist for the Jostens Trophy. “My first-year self would be pretty stoked,” he says.
Kristin Maile, SLC’s athletics director, says Brady embodies all the hallmarks of a Division III participant: “a stellar athlete, a leader on and off the court, an outstanding student preparing for graduate school, and a dedicated contributor and mentor within the broader community.”
After graduation, Brady will head to UCLA to pursue a master’s degree in public health, a path that blends his academic interests with a desire to make a tangible impact.
“I’m excited to see where this takes me,” he says, echoing the optimism he brought to Sarah Lawrence, now blended with experience.
Looking back, Brady offers simple advice to incoming students: “Try everything. Why not?” It’s a philosophy he has certainly lived, whether stepping in front of a camera for the first time, leading campus initiatives as president of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, or enrolling in courses that pushed him beyond his comfort zone and into new levels of understanding.
At Sarah Lawrence, Brady found not just a path, but a way of engaging with the world — one defined by curiosity, connection, and the confidence to explore.