Faculty Spotlights

One of the tools that really helped me get to know Saint Michael's College better before deciding to visit was the spotlight archive. This online archive is filled with interviews with professors, current students and alumni so that you're able to get to know the specific departments and your future professors better. This also helped me choose which professors I wanted to meet with during my campus visit and I really recommend doing this because it'll help you get a better feel for the department you'll be involved with during your collegiate experience if you choose to come to SMC.

Here's what a faculty spotlight looks like - this is Professor Clary, the honors program coordinator and an English professor. The first time I chatted with him during my campus visit, we ended up talking for an hour and a half and then he gave me a comic strip. Meet with him when you visit!

Registration: Done!

Aside from life-threatening incidences (and IB exams), I'm certain that the two minutes following the start of registration were the most stressful minutes of my life. Why? Aside from competing with hundreds of sophomores for the "5 out of 10" spots in certain courses, I also got bounced off of my  Knightvision account! But even after registering a full three minutes late, I got all the classes I wanted! The most exciting thing about my classes next semester is that I get to take courses with professors that I've admired for some time now. I've linked their names below to a faculty profile of them on the SMC website. Here's a preview of my next semester (during which I will surely be lacking any semblance of a life):

EC103 Honors Principles of Microeconomics with Tara Natarajan
Economics - 4 credits
M/W/F 12.10-13.10
Economics major requirement and honors course requirement


EC101 Principles of Macroeconomics with Patrick Walsh
Economics - 4 credits
T/TH 13.10-14.40
Economics major requirement


PO365 Multicultural Theory & Practice with Shefali Misra
Political Science - 4 credits
M/W 15.00-16.40
Global Studies major elective


HO301 Honors Colloquium with Nicholas Clary
Honors Program - 2 credits
TH 14.50-16.20
Honors program requirement


MJD205 Investigative Reporting with Alison Cleary
Media Studies, Journalism and Digital Arts - 4 credits
T/TH 11.30-13.00
Media Studies and Digital Arts major requirement

Getting logged out: Knightvision's blue screen of death

My registered courses for spring 2012

The Global Studies Minor

I recently received a few Formspring questions about my experience with the Global Studies (GL) minor so this post will be dedicated to answering those. The reason I chose to minor in Global Studies is because it combines my interests in languages, linguistics, anthropology and politics while exposing me to disciplines that I hadn't explored before like economics and geography. It's also a good way to keep up with current events since examples of ongoing issues are taken from the news in every class. 


"How do you like it?"
I really appreciate the flexibility of the Global Studies minor in being able to essentially shape the minor around your regional or thematic interest. The only required courses are Foundations of Global Studies and Global Studies Senior Seminar so students are given a lot of freedom to pursue their interests in terms of choosing what language to learn, what type of study abroad experience they want as well as which regionally focused course to take. 


"How are the professors?"

So far, I've only experienced having Katherine Kirby as a GL instructor for Foundations of Global Studies. She's originally a Philosophy professor so sometimes she will link the material with a philosopher's theory which is pretty interesting and because there is no real ideal 'global studies' professor, she acknowledges that she's not an expert in certain fields like economics or geography and will actually bring in guest speakers to elaborate on these topics. A few weeks ago, Joanne Scott, who is a professor in the Business department gave us a presentation on stocks and the global economy, which allowed us to make more sense of our assigned readings. A couple other professors I've encountered are Tara Natarajan in the economics department who I met at the 'Faith and Food' panel discussion and Kimberly Sultze who is my first year seminar professor and academic advisor. I can honestly say that these professors truly care about their students and their work - I've continued discussions with all of these professors outside of class, especially Prof Sultze who I visit during office hours at least twice a month. So from my experience, they're very accessible and will give you copious notes on how to improve on your assignments. Finally, your greatest ally during your study abroad application process and re-integration experience is Peggy Imai. I've had three appointments with her and she's really knowledgable about the different types of programs available as well as what types of students they might appeal to. 

"How are the classes?"
I think how the classes are depends on which departments you choose to study with, but the two required GL courses are discussion-based. 


"What is interesting about it?"
This minor is what you make it, so what's interesting about it is what's interesting to you. 

"Things Every College Student Should Know"

While grabbing some dorm furniture at Bed, Bath and Beyond, I came across 1001 Things Every College Student Needs to Know. At first, I thought the guide would be cheesy - which, some of it is - but I really ended up enjoying the tips Harry H. Harrison Jr had to give college students. Here are some of my favorite "things" that "every college student needs to know":

238. You need to know about ratemyprofessors.com and pickaprof.com. See how other students from your school graded professors.

467. You need to know to make a note card for each major theme and idea your professor covers in class. Transfer notes from class lectures and your textbook onto each card.

640. You need to know that a typical night of college homework will look like this:
- Review French vocabulary
- Study seventy pages for International Relations midterm
- Read sixty pages of literature
- Study for humanities project
- Research for science project
- Study for science midterm

723. You need to know that everything changes over time. Including people. And relationships.

778. You need to know that the best cure for worrying in bed is getting up and studying. (It's also my cure for stress head aches and general academic panic.)

796. You need to know a lot of problems get better after you've had a good night's sleep.

178. You need to know that if a class is too full for you to get into, attend the first class anyway. The professor just might squeeze you in. (I did this to get into Media & American Politics with Professor David Mindich and it worked! Also, my fellow blogger Gabbi Hall is in this class with me.)

Ken Robinson: Changing education paradigms

Great video on the general education system today - it's engaging and easy to follow. The speaker is Ken Robinson, who is an international authority on anglophone education systems, a TED speaker and the author of several books on constructive and creative passions. You can find more videos like this on ted.com.