Being at a place like Claremont has me in constant awe: constant awe of the beauty on the campuses, constant awe of the passion my professors possess, constant awe of the above average cafeteria food (okay maybe not constant)…but definitely constant awe of the intelligence of my peers.
In classes I am enlightened by fellow eighteen to nineteen year olds. That, my friends, is rare. The different backgrounds and unique ideas coming from each individual make for extremely interesting class discussions. I gain insight into new topics that I have covered and I’m delving into new concepts I have yet to explore. Sometimes in class we discuss a wide array of topics with no input from the professor. On these days I learn more from my classmates than from my professor. I enjoy going to class and I cannot iterate how inspired I am by the intelligence around me. Claremont sets and meets high standards.
Yes, we all know that Claremont is a special place. It IS the city of trees and PhDs, but at Keck Science Center, the collaborative science center shared between Scripps College, Claremont McKenna College, and Pitzer College, I have seen first-hand the quality work that students are producing. Keck’s faculty and resources truly cultivate smart people who are doing interesting things.
Philip Paulson ’12 and Associate Professor of Chemistry Kathleen Purvis-Roberts prepare a gas chromatography experiment in the W.M. Keck Science Department.
I saw a few fascinating projects my peers were engaged in last Wednesday when my science class offered an extra credit opportunity to go and listen to senior thesis proposals. In the deep, dark, basement of Keck I made my way to Burns Lecture Hall. The three individuals that I listened to were working in labs with test specimens ranging from cold-sensitive plants to fruit flies and writing their senior theses about their results. Listening to my peers–just a few years older than I–was inspiring but intimidating. These people are doing such cool things, and I am highly impressed, but it brought upon a lot of self-reflection. Should I be working in a lab already? How do I even begin that process? Will I ever gain technical experience? And it all culminated into the big, overarching question that I have been consistently asking myself in these first two months of college: What am I going to do for the rest of my life? (Notice how when in panic mode your mind jumps twenty to thirty years ahead in time.).
At that point I took a deep breath. Claremont sets the bar high, with people achieving things I can only dream of, however, Claremont provides the resources to excel. If I express interest in working in a lab I can probably get a position at neighboring Keck or at another lab nearby. With enough drive, persistence, and hard work, I guarantee opportunities will arise. My professors are here to guide me, my peers are here to help, and I am determined.
The awe-inspiring atmosphere at the 5Cs makes me strive to achieve great things. There is still time to figure things out; I am still adjusting; I just need to take a deep breath. We all need to take a deep breath. Who knows, three years from now maybe another girl will be writing a blog post on my senior thesis proposal presentation.
