stART on the Street Photos

I'll write soon with course updates, but I wanted to post some pictures that I took earlier today at stART on the Street. I hope everyone's week starts out well! I will write to you all soon.

Musicians performing on the street

Fencing!

Slam poetry

Central Mass Roller derby!

One of the many booths

Jane browsing clothes

Giant bubbles

The view from the hill across from Elm Park

The booth for That's Entertainment

Folks performing for a crowd

Arts & Crafts

Ran into some fellow Clarkies! (Dylan's blog here, because I haven't linked to it enough times already)

End of the Week Walk & Thoughts

I've just returned from a nice stroll through Worcester with my friend Jane! After brunch we decided to take a walk, and so we ended up walking up past the Clark Bookstore (we stopped in to look at sweatshirts) and then looped around by Living Earth.

Upon our return, we did a bit of posing in front of our house (23 Maywood - the Wellness House; located directly across the street from Maywood Street Hall).

(Me)

(Jane)

Today I will be working on some homework, studying, and reading. I have my first exam coming up on September 27th. It will be over all of the readings covered thus far in my sociology (American Jewish Life) course. The readings have covered a variety of topics related to Jewish American culture, often colored by a historical lens. Often, it feels, the course readings are implying the question: what happened in the past to cause this event to be significant today? Again, our major project will focus on the tracing of one strand of Jewish American culture, so it fits well to examine how a certain topic has shifted or grown over time.

I'm feeling very excited for my COPACE course on Death & Dying. In the most recent reading that I completed for class (on Wednesday), the text delved into some interesting topics, in particular those suggesting why people may fear the death of others'. Because, the text suggested, it makes us aware of our own mortality. This was something I had considered but never felt in such blunt terms, so it was a nice/oddly terrifying sort of realization to encounter. I am pumped about this course because I feel that it will be a wonderful preparation for the world of hospice work.

Additionally, I'm feeling very excited for my social psychology capstone. I feel that it was a particularly good choice because I am hoping to enter a field in which I will be interacting with people (socially) in events where a background in psychology may be especially significant. The topic of consciousness is such an intriguing topic to study; it will be interesting to see which sub-topics my classmates focus their projects on.

Hebrew Bible has been wonderful so far as well - Prof. Fox still remains a favorite professor of mine. I have completed the majority of my Jewish Studies concentration requirements with him.

Enough about classes for now! I'm off to do a bit of homework. Tomorrow I'm hoping to do more homework/studying & to see a few friends, and then on Sunday I'll be attending stART on the Street (which is really great! Everyone in Worcester should definitely try to go).

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Monday, Monday

I've finally had a real Monday! Our past two were canceled; first due to Hurricane Irene, and then due to Labor Day. I'm satisfied to have finally attended all of my classes and to have become acquainted with professors and with what course work will entail for the semester.

College time is equally great and also disorienting - each day can feel like multiple days, and yet overall the weeks speed by. Part of me can't comprehend that I've been at Clark for three school years already! Totally crazy. And yet, it's only Tuesday. My Mondays through Wednesdays are fairly busy, with courses and projecting for the Screen Studies department in the evenings. But then after my two classes on Thursdays, I'm freeeee! Except for my SPOC book club meetings, that is. And usually, the CUFS weekly screening (this week it's The Dead Poets Society!)

Anyway, I attended my Psych Capstone course on Monday evening, which looks to be both interesting and challenging. Our course will focus on the topic of consciousness, and each student will choose a topic within that topic (I'm hoping to explore prosopagnosia - a disorder when people become unable to recognize faces while maintaining the ability to recognize other objects) which we will become experts on, and present our information in paper/powerpoint form to the class on assigned dates.

Presenting information seems to be a theme of my courses this semester; for American Jewish Life each student will pick one minute strain of Jewish life in the U.S. (be it bagels, a type of jewelry, or summer camps) and trace it throughout time. Because we're able to pick topics that interest us as individuals, I anticipate the project as being very interesting & enjoyable. And also, in the COPACE course (a Study of Death & Dying), each student will complete a paper/presentation on one topic related to death (approved by the professor) and present it later in the semester.

In general, being a fairly shy lady, I tend to find presentations unbearable. But because the topics are being catered to the individual, I anticipate that these projects will be enjoyable and not too nerve-racking.

The weather is lovely in Worcester today, I hope it will last through Sunday when stART on the Street is occurring - I attended last year and it was wonderful, with lots of college students, Worcester residents, and local artists, artwork, entertainment, and activities. If anyone is in the Worcester area on Sunday, I highly recommend attending it.

This past weekend I had a bit of free time & was able to walk around with my friend Dylan Scott (his blog can be found here) to take pictures of the Clark campus. I hope you enjoy them!

My friend Jane posing in front of Jonas Clark Hall

Dylan posing on a bench in Red Square

Students walking outside Goddard Library

Wright Hall, on Downing Street

The Kneller Athletic Center

Students juggling on the green (outside of Jefferson Academic Center)

Until next time!

The Beginnings of Courses & Clubs

Happy Friday (my apologies to your ears - it's just too relevant to pass up)!

I'm quite fond of my schedule for this semester at Clark - I work my projectionist job Monday through Wednesday, and I have classes from Monday through Thursday. Fridays are mine for homework, laundry, sleeping in, or taking walks through Worcester. I'll have to remember to bring my camera next time, so I can post some pictures.

Since updating last, I have gone to my official first COPACE class. I am very excited for this course, the syllabus seems very closely catered to my tastes. It's also a very small class, only seven students, which I personally find more favorable than large classes (though I must say, I haven't had too many huge classes at Clark throughout my years here).

So, my COPACE course, officially titled "The Final Chapter: A Study of Death and Dying" at first appears somewhat macabre. However, we will be viewing the topic from a social services viewpoint, colored with a sociological lens - it's more of a course that enables us to gain a deeper understanding of the emotional/psychological processes of death, the cultural attitudes associated with death, and to gain knowledge of community resources. Which, as I mentioned previously, is right up my alley; this course will be delving into the very topic that would be relevant to my career as either a hospice worker or Jewish chaplain.

I'll update with specifics as the course progresses.

Yesterday evening I attended a couple of club meetings. I'm very excited to continue being a radio DJ for ROCU this year, and in addition to continuing my co-presidency at CUFS, I'm also joining a new club - the SPOC book club. For those who are unfamiliar, SPOC stands for Science fiction People Of Clark. I'm excited for the book club because 1. I'm quite fond of reading books and yet 2. haven't read many science-fiction/fantasy books. I'm hoping to gain more exposure to the genres through this club.

Again, I'll update more with specifics as we begin to choose the books for the semester.

So, I shall spend the rest of my Friday getting ahead on my reading for the next week, and possibly doing some laundry. I hope everyone enjoys the sunny weather today!

Senior Year Begins

Hello again!

Or, "We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story", as one of my friends is fond of saying. 

I'm very excited to continue my blog this year! I look forward to relaying my experiences at Clark as a Psychology major with a concentration in Jewish Studies, as a senior, on the verge of graduation! I'm beginning to discover how I will be able to merge my university studies with potential career options following graduation, and I hope, through this blog, to paint an accurate portrayal of how Clark has prepared me for what will come next in life.

So you may ask: what are my plans for Clark this year?

They're very exciting! I'm taking four classes: my capstone for psychology, called Advanced Topics in Social Psychology; a Jewish studies/sociology course called American Jewish Life; a Jewish studies course called Reading the Narratives of the Hebrew Bible (those who followed this blog last year may recall that I took the second piece of this course previously); and a COPACE course (through the Adult/Continuing Education program), a class titled The Final Chapter: A Study in Death and Dying.

Additionally, I am maintaining my position as a co-president of the Clark University Film Society (CUFS), and I will be preparing play-lists and hosting a radio show with a couple friends as a part of ROCU, Radio of Clark University. As the year progresses, I may join a few more clubs (Clark has so many to choose from!)

I will also be working as a student projectionist for the Screen Studies program here at Clark - I'll be in charge of setting up and projecting a number of screenings per week.

You may then be thinking: your senior year sounds great! But what's next? Are you going to stay at Clark and continue with the Fifth-Year Program?

My plans for the future are still uncertain - graduate school is a definite option, but my plans are not solidified to the point where I'd feel comfortable committing to Clark's excellent Fifth-Year program (check out Dylan's awesome science blog, which discusses what it's like to continue at Clark after undergrad, or this audio clip by a past student explaining why he decided to enter the Fifth-Year program).

If not Fifth-Year, then what are your plans?

I'm looking into careers where I may be able to combine the two topics I grew to love so much at Clark - psychology, and Jewish studies. Potential careers at this point include Jewish chaplaincy and hospice work; in my own experiences with illness and familial death, I have grown to appreciate how comforting the presence of such people can be during difficult times. And both positions would combine very nicely the topics I've studied here at Clark! For interested parties, here's a list of the smattering of courses that really pushed me to become interested in a career where I'd be lending kindness to the infirm: Suffering and Evil in Jewish Tradition, Holocaust: Agency and Action, Introduction to Peace Studies, Introduction to Abnormal Psychology, and Sociology of Families. I'm hoping that courses this semester (mainly A Study in Death & Dying and American Jewish Life, in addition to the Social Psychology capstone) will provide me with even more of a basis for the types of topics I’d uncover as a Jewish chaplain/hospice worker.

Clark truly is an institution that changes lives - without the availability and proximity of such enjoyable and interesting psychology & Jewish studies courses, I'm not certain I would have landed on a potential career choice that feels both accessible and exciting to me as an individual. 

This blog will follow my experiences at Clark throughout my senior year, with a focus on how my courses (and past courses) have prepared me for experiences after college. I'll keep you updated on events on campus, and will hopefully be posting relevant pictures, videos, and tweets (I've never used Twitter before, but I'll post links once I've set it up).

Thanks for reading so far - I look forward to keeping all of you updated!

Goodbye for Now, Clark! Final Reflections

The end of the semester is very close now - I leave in less than a week! Three exams to go, and then I'm done foreverrrr! Just kidding, I mean I'm done until summer classes start up.

Overall, my junior year has been filled with challenging courses, new friendships, new jobs, and difficult circumstances to overcome. But it's been very enjoyable! Along with working hard in my courses, I hosted and prepared playlists for my own radio show on ROCU (Radio of Clark University) and I successfully led my first semester as a co-president of CUFS (Clark U Film Society). I lived an entire year with a male roommate without either of us driving the other crazy, and I lived happily in a substance-free dorm. I attended various performances, improv shows, movies, and activities. It was a great year!

Although I'm pleased to be (nearly) done, I will miss Clark dearly over the summer. Today I filmed a video of  what I'm going to miss about Clark while I'm home. I apologize for the rain! On the upside, everything is looking wonderfully green.

Thank you to everyone who followed and kept up with my blog! I really enjoyed updating it, and I hope it gave everyone a nice look into what life as a psychology student & Jewish Studies concentrator is like at Clark.

I hope everyone has a lovely summer!

Eleven reasons (and ten pictures) depicting why Clark is great even during finals

I have been very busy with finals and the end of classes; thus far I have completed (& presented) one presentation on a comparison between interviewing and observing (for Qualitative Methods). But I still have a lot left to do! My to-do list: (1) present a twenty-minute presentation on Gender Identity Disorder for Human Sexuality, (2) write a ten-to-fifteen page paper on my interview for Qualitative Methods, (3) write a three-to-five extra credit paper for Astronomy, (4) write two short papers for Hebrew Bible II, and (5 - 7) exams! For Human Sexuality, Astronomy, and Hebrew Bible II.

The weeks have been crawling by. I love being at Clark very much, but the cram and stress that always occur at the end of classes makes for a build of anxiety and a desire to return home where the cats are plentiful and there is an excess of time to be used sleeping.

Additionally, the pressure to figure out issues relating to class standing has been causing me to fret a bit. If anything, I can determine that this grinding process has at least been a learning experience of sorts; experience that allows me to communicate with the university as an institution and work together to determine how we can maneuver around the difficulties that have arisen. I feel that the head of the psychology department and the Clark faculty must be trying their very hardest to be flexible towards my academic needs at this point in time.

All of that stress-talk aside, there have been many ways to blow off steam in a safe and fun way, provided by Clark & the Worcester community. And so I present to you: ten pictures and eleven ways to enjoy life and take a break during finals time at Clark University.

1. Walks in Elm Park (we are imitating the hanging things from the art exhibit above us)

2. Road trips! (To the movies, preferably. The West Boylston theater always has a nice array of movies for low prices. And of course, Cinema 320 is run out of Clark's own Jefferson 320 serving as another movie option (in addition to CUFS, of course!) if transportation to get off campus is limited)

3. Browsing in That's Entertainment, Jelly's, and other local Worcester businesses.

4. Hanging out (or doing work) in the Clark Bistro

5. Sitting on the green with other Clarkies

6. Dance parties

7. Playing piano in Tilton Hall (in The Higgins University Center)

8. Drinking lots of coffee (provided by the Clark Bistro and Jazzman's cafe located on the first floor of the library)

9. Taking lots of snack breaks

10. Dressing up Freud in weird costumes (catch people red-handed on the Clark Red Square webcam)

And lastly, but definitely not least

11. Attending a variety of Clark-sponsored events! Just to give an idea of the assortment of activities offered:

Past events this weekend include:
Academic Spree Day
SPOC's game night
Clark's Relay for Life
Shenanigan's final show of the semester
DOM live in the grind and
Behold The Man (a student written, directed, and performed play).

Upcoming events include
Pea Pod's final show of the semester
Variant Dance Troupe's Spring Show and
the annual Screen on the Green sponsored by CUFS and SAB.

And so, as the school year concludes, I find myself overwhelmed by schoolwork but still enjoying my time here at Clark (how could I not, with all these fun things to do?)

Happy almost-Mother's Day to all mothers and children of mother's out there! Be sure to watch out for my last entry of the school year! Coming soon to the Internet near you.