An Evolving
Passion
On the first day of classes as
a freshman at the University
of Pennsylvania, Molly Elson
approached a professor who
is well known in the field of
evolutionary psychology to ask
for a job in his research lab.
He hired her on the spot.
Having written her Extended Essay on a
topic in this field (The Inclusive Fitness
Theory: How W. D. Hamilton’s Rule Predicts
Behavior Within the Family), Molly felt
emboldened to ask for the position.
“Because of my Extended Essay, I
was able to tell him I had already done
some research in the field and I was able to
convey my passion for the subject, so he
was very receptive,” says Molly. “Working
on that essay really gave me a head start in
my field of interest.” Now a sophomore at
Penn, she is studying psychology as well as
gender, sexuality, and women’s studies.
At Shaker, Molly gravitated toward
math and science classes, but also
studied French, captained the women’s
varsity soccer team, and was a student
leader in the Student Group on Race
Relations (SGORR).
“The IB Diploma Program was a good
fit for me because it gave me the rigorous
education I sought, and the Extended
Essay gave me the opportunity I so badly
desired to explore a topic I was passionate
about,” says Molly. While she admits that
the Theory of Knowledge class did not click
with her at the time, “I now think about the
material and it finally makes sense.”
Molly believes the benefits to pursuing
the IB Diploma have been numerous. For
starters, “The document-based questions
we practiced in the IB European History
course are nearly identical to some of
the essays we were asked to write in
my Modern American Cultural History
48 SHAKERONLINE.COM | SPRING 2014
course last semester. The familiarity of the
question style allowed me to write that
essay with ease,” she says.
Molly also credits her IB French classes
with giving her the confidence to travel to
France on her own in the summer before
her freshman year at college. However, her
biggest take-away from the program, she
says, was the ability to think creatively.
“In the IB Diploma Program, there
are few if any multiple choice questions.
You have to be able to piece together the
knowledge you have gained and apply it,”
says Molly. “I learned that creativity is a
valuable skill that I had, and I needed to
exercise it.”
“I learned that
creativity is a
valuable skill that
I had, and I needed
to exercise it.”
For Molly Elson, a passion for evolutionary
psychology led to a plum research assignment
at the University of Pennsylvania.
She traded in her soccer ball for Ultimate
Frisbee, a pastime she shares with fellow
IB alum Ian Bartimole. “We throw around
together sometimes when we’re both at
home,” she says. Photograph by Bob Elson