"In the first few months of my freshman year, I was told, pointedly, all the time, that I deserved to be here."
So begins this perceptive, trenchant, and beautifully written column about imposter syndrome, written by Harvard College undergraduate Rebecca E.J. Cadenhead. Imposter syndrome is a perennial topic of student worry and conversation, but Cadenhead's keen observations and reflections yield a strikingly original take. She raises difficult questions about the task of deciding who gets admitted to Harvard and the under-discussed effects on the students who do get in.
"We feel the need to act like the kind of person who has earned all this, which is something of an impossible task since such disproportionate privilege cannot actually be earned, only given," Cadenhead writes. "Really, there’s a way in which 'imposter syndrome' is a form of self-awareness." She turns an unsparing eye on herself as well, and plunges down a series of revelatory and unexpected avenues of thought.
This column was one of three written by Cadenhead, who was a student fellow at Harvard Magazine in 2021-22. Our readers responded to this piece with enormous enthusiasm; we received letters for months afterward. Cadenhead was invited by at least one alumna to come and speak at a gathering. Others reached out simply to ask if they could speak with Cadenhead directly. For many, this column seemed to offer almost a cathartic release. It made a deep and specific connection with our audience.
From the Judges
A candid look into what many students feel, think, and experience entering their college experience. Almost feels cathartic and an experience many readers can relate with.
