If you ask Sean Doherty why he never went abroad during his four years at Bates, there’s a good chance you’ll be laughed at. Born in Greece, this philosophy and English double major has lived in the U.S., Canada, Uruguay, Yugoslavia, and most recently, Mexico.

Doherty settled into a niche at Bates. As executive editor and writer at the John Galt Press, the alternative campus newspaper, and collector of antiquarian books, which he bought and sold from his dorm room, Doherty is just as rare as the tomes he accumulates. Attracted by the academic rigor, as well as a division I squash program, he chose to come to Bates. Shortly after setting foot in the Merrill Gymnasium’s squash facility, he proceeded to write history, as the first player at Bates to ever hold an iron grip on the number one position for four years, while achieving the highest national ranking ever for a Bates player. Doherty also holds the distinction of being the first Bobcat to capture the Maine Open squash tournament.

Although passionate about squash, Doherty’s zest for the sport is perhaps superseded only by his love for philosophy, a love fostered by Professor Tom Tracy. "During my first year, I took the seminar, ‘The Nature of Consciousness,’ and I was hooked," he said. Doherty will continue to pursue the subject – on full fellowship - in a nationally recognized Ph.D. program at the University of Connecticut. "I wasn’t really finished with what I wanted to learn," Doherty says, "and I sort of feel as though my education here has only scratched the surface of issues I was interested in." -- By Nick Bournakel '01