Darlington Connects: Jack Quandt ('23)

Through this special Darlington Connects blog series, we are proud to showcase the stories, connections, and lasting impact of a community that continues to embody Darlington’s mission and values long after graduation. Today, we hear from Jack Quandt ('23), a senior at Sarah Lawrence College who recently studied abroad at the University of Havana in Cuba.

The first thing Jack Quandt ('23) noticed after landing in Cuba wasn't the architecture, the language, or the ocean.

It was a line.

Stretching down the highway outside the airport was a line of cars. Curious, he asked what everyone was waiting for. He was told, "That is the line for gas." In that moment, standing in a country he had only previously encountered through books, documentaries, and political discussions, the reality of Cuba became tangible.

"It hit me that I was in a communist country," Jack said.

For Jack, however, Cuba wasn't simply a destination. It was the latest stop in a lifelong pursuit of understanding how other people live. Before arriving at Darlington, Jack spent a decade growing up in Montana. Living in the American West, he became fascinated by a part of the country he had never experienced: the South. That curiosity eventually led him to Darlington, where he immersed himself in a community far different from the one he had known.

After graduating in 2023, that same curiosity carried him to Sarah Lawrence College in New York.

"I've always wanted to know what it's like to live somewhere else; going to Sarah Lawrence gave me the opportunity to learn the culture of a new area," he said.

Jack's interest in politics and philosophy began long before college. As a child, he remembers asking a member of the U.S. House of Representatives a question most adults would hesitate to ask: "Why would I want to vote for you?" That same curiosity followed him to Sarah Lawrence, where he found himself drawn to understanding not only different political systems but also the people who live within them.

When the opportunity arose to study abroad through Sarah Lawrence's longstanding partnership with the University of Havana, it felt like a natural fit. Cuba has occupied a unique place in the American imagination for decades: geographically close, politically adversarial, and often viewed through the lens of history, ideology, and media. For Jack, the program offered a rare chance to move beyond assumptions and headlines, immersing himself in a culture that many Americans know about, but few have the opportunity to experience firsthand.

For five months, he studied in Cuba alongside seven other American students. His experience was both eye-opening and deeply human. The economic realities of daily life were impossible to ignore. He witnessed shortages, long waits for basic necessities, and a level of poverty that transformed abstract concepts into lived experiences. He remembers hearing hungry babies cry and seeing firsthand the challenges many Cuban families face.

"The experience took everything I'd seen in films and media and made it real," he said.

The effects of inequality appeared everywhere. Many Cuban students struggled to attend classes because transportation costs made regular attendance difficult. Those who were present were often studying medicine or law, fields viewed as pathways to greater opportunity. Outside the classroom, the economic divide was even more visible. When Jack and his classmates went out socially, he noticed that most of the people around them were older adults.

"The younger people often couldn't afford to go out," he explained.

Yet for all the hardship he witnessed, what stayed with him most was something else entirely, the joy.

"People were unrelentingly happy," he said.

On his very first day, locals taught him how to salsa dance. Throughout his semester, he encountered a warmth and resilience that challenged many of his assumptions about happiness and prosperity.

Academically, the experience required adjustment as well. The structure he had grown accustomed to in American schools was often absent. In one course, Jack found himself requesting a syllabus so he could organize his work and stay on track. It was there that he recognized just how much Darlington had prepared him.

The organizational habits he developed as a student helped him navigate a less structured academic environment. Equally important were the social skills he gained through living and learning alongside people from different backgrounds. Having already experienced cultural transitions at Darlington, Jack felt prepared to engage with a new community rather than retreat from it.

Those skills became particularly valuable when homesickness inevitably arrived.

But even that experience surprised him.

Having lived in Montana, Georgia, New York, and now Cuba, he found himself wrestling with an unexpected question: Where is home? The answer became clear only after spending months abroad. He wasn't homesick for Montana. He wasn't homesick for Georgia. He wasn't homesick for New York. He was homesick for the United States.

The realization gave him a deeper appreciation for his own country while also helping him better understand the experiences of others.

One lesson from Cuba continues to stay with him.

A professor at the University of Havana told his class, "Poverty does not start revolutions. Inequality does."

The statement resonated deeply with Jack. It challenged him to think critically about the social and political forces shaping societies around the world, including the United States.

Now back from Cuba, the experience continues to influence his future. He hopes to write more extensively about what he learned and has become increasingly interested in pursuing work connected to politics and public policy.

For someone who has spent much of his life seeking out unfamiliar places and perspectives, Cuba offered exactly what he was looking for: a chance to better understand the world.

And perhaps, in the process, better understand home.

To connect with Kendall and other alumni, join Darlington Connects on LinkedIn today!