Devon Balfour

Home / Admissions / Admissions Staff / Devon Balfour

Devon Balfour

Assistant Director of Admissions
Degree: B.A., Hampshire College, Amherst, MA
Originally from: Burrillville, RI / Rutland, VT
E-mail: debAD@hampshire.edu
AIM: DevonHampshireAD

Reason I love working at Hampshire: I’m a Hampshire graduate and I really fell in love with the school during my four years as a student. I’m continually impressed by the caliber of our students, but also by our complete dedication to a different approach to college education. I would talk about Hampshire’s power to change lives even if I wasn’t an admissions counselor here; getting paid for it is just an added bonus.

Piece of advice for prospects in the college search process: Ask lots of questions! Don’t be shy – people in the Admissions office are there to answer any question, no matter how seemingly trivial.

Favorite book: Drop City by T.C. Boyle (or really anything by T.C. Boyle). Alternately, if I’m not in a fiction mood, Revolution for the Hell of It by Abbie Hoffman.

Favorite movie: I can’t pick just one, so here’s a short list: The Night Stalker, The Big Bus, Clerks, The Big Lebowski, Duel, They Live, and Empire Records.

Favorite vacation/travel spot: Acadia National Park, Maine

Favorite way to procrastinate: Buffy the Vampire Slayer marathons with my housemates, reading memoir, cooking, listening to paranormal talk radio (believe me – its fun).

Favorite song or lyrics: I’m a huge Neil Young fan. I don’t have any specific preferred songs, although I guess “Cowgirl in the Sand,” “Ohio,” “Powderfinger,” and “Roger and Out” are particular favorites.

Favorite places to spend time in Amherst/Noho: The farmer’s market in Amherst is one of my favorite places to spend time. It takes place on Saturday from May to November and I love being able to buy produce and flowers (and sometimes even goat cheese!) from the people who actually had a hand in producing it all.

The one thing I want to accomplish in my life: A Ph.D. in history.

Three things I would want with me if I were stranded on a desert island: First and foremost my girlfriend Kirsten – she’s pretty handy and would be able to build us a shelter and make a fire by rubbing sticks together. A camera so I could document the experience, and a copy of Robinson Crusoe, just to get some ideas.

A random fact about me: If I could go back to any historical decade, it would be the 1960s. I concentrated on the Sixties for my Division III project, and I’d love to be able to see all the events that I wrote about, especially the 1968 Chicago convention protests.