Headline: She craves scrapple

Home: Cabot House and Smyrna, Del. Concentration: Sociology

Et cetera: Is the first person from her town to attend an Ivy League institution. Just finished a week-long stint in UHS for food poisoning.

Why Smyrna is a "kick-ass" town: It was voted the 32nd best small town in the US. I have lots of documentation on this. Everyone knows everyone--it's really close-knit. For example, my dad plays in the Fire Company band and they throw big parties in barns.

What it's like: [Smyrna is] really similar to the rural South--I grew up on a farm and I come from a whole family of farmers. We moved into town when I grew older but we used to live in an old farmhouse with a wood-burning stove. We kept pigs and chickens. We had a goat too but eventually my dad killed it and we ate it.

Other local delicacies: It's all terrible for you--it's wonderful. We eat scrapple all the time. It's made from pig scraps, pork broth, corn meal and lard. You slice it up and then you fry it on both sides. I crave it along with my grandmother's slippery chicken and dumplings.

The source of her food poisoning: Harvard food. I'll eat anything once but never again will I eat a bean tostada.

Her role on the farm: My older brother is the animal expert but I'm really good with plants and flowers and cooking. My lemon butter has won the blue ribbon at the Delaware state fair three times. It's my great-grandmother's recipe. It's pretty cool to win, especially when you beat out some old lady who's been winning for the past fifteen years.

Biggest adjustments to city life: I'm used to knowing everyone and people being friendlier. Here drivers try to run you over instead of waving to you. No one here drives a pickup truck either, the ultimate form of transport at home.

Changes she's made in her speech: I had to stop saying "ain't" constantly and I drawl a lot less. My roomates love to hear my farm phrases--my grandmother taught me tons of them.

New phrases she's picked up at Harvard: I've learned some Yiddish from my roommates. It's actually pretty similar to [how we talk at] home. Interview: Elisabeth Mayer Photo: Haibin Jiu