So, as I mentioned in my last post, I'm keeping plenty busy this semester by taking 6 1/2 classes to make up for my semester that I took off for military training, and I thought I'd break down my schedule for you all - this will be especially useful if you're a MJD or Business major!
1. Philosophy - Freedom & Desire
I'm taking this class to fulfill the LSC requirements of the school (which I probably should've taken a while ago since I'm a junior now and most people take this sometime freshman or sophomore year...oops!) This class is very thought-provoking and digs deeper into the topics of erotic love and freedom by reading works by Plato, mostly about an ancient philosopher named Socrates, among a variety of other readings. I'm taking it with Professor John Izzi - a very lively and energetic man for an 8 a.m. class, but his class is definitely interesting!
2. Business Law
This class is a requirement for the Business Administration major, and I'm taking it with Professor Wargo - he's very calm and the workload is fair. The work consists of reading The Buffalo Creek Disaster and A Civil Action, two books that deal heavily with business law, and responding to questions about them online, watching a movie every Thursday session regarding law, and taking short quizzes on law each Tuesday from the textbook (which aren't so bad if you study!). This class sounds more overwhelming than it actually is - so far, I'm loving what I'm learning about the law.
3. Media Law
Media Law ties in nicely with Business Law, so taking them in the same semester is helping to reinforce what I'm learning about the law since many of the concepts in each class overlap. This class is required for the MJD major, and I'm taking it with Professor Traci Griffith. She's very passionate about the law, and she keeps the class lively and interesting with her passion and rambunctious personality. The case study readings about the law are really interesting as well, since you learn where a lot of today's laws come from by reading them!
4. Reporting for Media
Here's my hardest class of the semester. This class basically teaches you the fundamentals of reporting by putting you in the reporter's role, doing interviews, typing articles, and learning the AP Style format used in news writing. My professor is Professor Cleary, and she's really knowledgeable about the field having worked in news writing before. Be warned though, this class is demanding and has a high work load, so prepare to dedicate some time to it!
5 (4 1/2?). Honor's Colloquium
I believe I forgot to mention in my last post that I'm in the Honor's Program here at Saint Michael's! In this program, students are upheld to higher standards, such as taking 3 honors-level courses, taking the Honor's Colloquium, creating an honors Senior Capstone project their senior year, and maintaining a 3.6 GPA. So far, the program has been really rewarding for me: I've taken 2 honors-level courses and I'm now in the colloquium, so I'm well on my way to meeting the requirements before graduation!
The Honor's Colloquium is basically an open discussion kind of class. Unlike most of the classes at Saint Michael's, which are 4-credit, this class is only 2 and meets once a week for an hour and a half. Students pair up in twos, explore a topic of their choice, and present their findings to the class for 1 1/2 class sessions, thus becoming "teachers" in a way. The topics we've discussed so far in this class range from media addiction to the female image, so I'm really enjoying the variety and lively discussion that results from controversial topics.
6 (5 1/2?). Managerial Accounting
This is a required class for Business Administration majors, and it can only be taken if a students has already taken financial accounting. These two accounting courses are expected to teach business students a bit about the accounting side of the business world and is especially useful for students looking to start their own business with their degrees. Personally, I find accounting really difficult, so this class is not my favorite, but many business majors choose to become accounting minors after taking these classes, so it all truly depends on the person! I'm taking this course online through Community College of Vermont instead of at Saint Michael's to save money and time, mostly, but it's almost identical to the course offered here.
7 (6 1/2?). Social Media
This course is an elective course in the MJD major, and each student with the major is expected to take 3 electives in the major in order to graduate. This class is probably my favorite one this semester, as I'm really fascinated with how media has developed to be such a strong influence in society and what effects its having. In this course, we delve into Facebook, Twitter, media addiction, advertising in media, and a variety of other topics that generate a ton of discussion and opinion. I'm also taking this class online through the Community College of Vermont for the same reasons as the last class, but it's been highly interesting and rewarding thus far!
So there you have it, my schedule in a nutshell. It's hard to stay on top of everything this semester, so I have to be especially proactive, but it's not impossible! Besides, when the going gets tough and I need a little break, I can go home to northern Vermont in Saint Albans to see my family, which is only about a half-hour drive from Saint Michael's!
I went to visit my family this past weekend, in fact, and it was really stress-relieving! I helped mom cook, caught up on sleep, and hung around with my 6 pets - 3 dogs and 3 cats!
It's always nice to be at college keeping busy and pushing myself to get to where I want to be in the future (which is a WHOLE other post in itself, which I will most likely do soon enough), but going home once in a while and taking a break from the hectic life that is college is really refreshing as well. If you're already here at Saint Michael's (or any college, for that matter), I hope you're not stressing out too badly and remembering to breathe too!
