senior program summer site : conversations : first session



	elise from south carolina (7/2) Elise is a rising junior and it’s her first summer at Explo. She is very excited to be in New England for the first time and to experience a college setting. She looks forward to college trips and getting more fashion advice from her French suitemates. What is your first course and what did you do in it yesterday? My first course is “Exploration of Popular Science.” Yesterday we made baby dragons from genetic traits that they could inherit. One of us was the mother and one of us was the father and we made our little baby dragon. We named it and stuff. I think genetics are really interesting. What did you do in your class today? Today we debated a lot about theories in gene testing and how it might affect you getting a job, like, if you had to be tested for diseases you might have later in life. For example, if you tested positive, would you still get the job versus somebody who wouldn’t have the disease later in life? That’s an interesting and controversial topic. Which side of the debate were you on? I was kind of in the middle of it. I think it’s wrong, but I can understand why an employer would want to know if someone was going to have a disease and whether to hire him or her. They actually just passed a law in May 2008 saying you could not use genetics to decide whether or not you give someone a job. What is your second course and what did you do in it yesterday? “The Anthropology of the 1980’s.” We listed what comes to mind when we think of the 80’s and 70’s and how they relate. Then we discussed how the 70’s affected the 80’s and how the 80’s affected us. I like the 80’s better, because everything was ‘take risks’ and ‘no regrets.’ I’m really edgy, and I think it’s good to be your own person. . .and that’s what the 80’s were all about. What did you do in your anthropology class today? We talked about the political side of the 80’s, like the Cold War, political policies, and if certain things hadn’t happened, how it would be different now. Maybe if we hadn’t supported Iraq during the Cold War we wouldn’t be at war today. What are you taking for afternoon academics? I am taking SAT Prep for Math. I took the PSAT’s this past year, and my language score was good but I want to get my math score up. So far there are a lot of good tips; I would recommend it to other students. Did you do anything exciting last night? I watched a soccer game that was going on in the quad. It was the Italian boys versus the French boys. They had like a mini World Cup thing going on. They ended up ending it at 4-4. The French had the game at the beginning, but the Italians came back towards the end. Have you been encouraged to try something new at Explo? Just the whole experience of coming to Connecticut, I have never been further north then West Virginia. It is fun to come up North and meet all different kinds of new people. I like it so far; I thought the weather would be a little bit cooler but it kind of feels like South Carolina. What do you think of the food? The food is actually really good. I had the breakfast and lunch, but I haven’t had dinner yet because we went out to dinner last night. We went to Yorkside Pizza. It was so good. One of the guys I met from Explo said northern pizza is so much better than southern pizza. . .and I would have to agree, it’s pretty good. What is your favorite thing about being a residential student? Just that you can bond more with the people here and it’s a good chance to make a whole bunch of new friends and stuff. My living group is all really nice. There is Caroline, she’s the one in the blue, and she’s my roommate. Kailey is the one in the room next to us. We run in the same circles. We have common interests and common friends, so we bonded immediately. What were you expecting when you came to Explo? Just to experience the whole college thing and being away from home and being on campus. So far it has been really good. I really like it up here. I really want to go to NYU for journalism, so I’m excited for the college trip to NYU and Sarah Lawrence. It’s going to be fun experiencing New England. What is your favorite thing about your living group? That they are all really nice. And we have two girls from Paris and one from Australia so they are from all over the world. It’s fun to talk to them about the things they do in their towns and how it’s different from where I live. They have good fashion advice. We ask them what they would do in Paris and stuff like that. What advice would you give someone coming to Explo for the first time? Pack sheets and pillows. I forgot that part, and had to borrow them from Caroline. Just be open about everything because everybody is so nice. If you just walk up and say hi you immediately start talking to people. Just have an open mind. If you had to describe Explo as an object what would that object be and why? Probably a globe, because Explo’s like the world. There are so many people here from different places; it’s really one big mix of everything. more conversations > first session \| second session