The Beauty of a Liberal Arts School

Happy Friday everyone!  Can't believe another week has already flown by and that next week is spring break.  Even though I have a decent amount of work to do, I'm looking forward to seeing my family and my goat Jack. :)

As I'm sure you know, Saint Mike's is a liberal arts school.  This means that, as part of the curriculum, students are required to take classes in a variety of subject areas outside their major(s).  This is especially helpful for people who come in not knowing what they want to major in - it allows them to explore the many options Saint Mike's has to offer.  I came to Saint Mike's already knowing that I wanted to be a psych major, but because of the liberal arts requirements (LSRs), I decided to add a sociology minor.  Without the option to take Intro to Sociology or the encouragement of my peers, I might not have had the opportunity to even discover what sociology really is, and now I absolutely love it.

Another great thing about taking classes in different subjects is that they have this weird way of relating to each other.  I have found this to be the case during just about every semester I've spent here at SMC.  Here's an example.  You wouldn't think that Psychology of Marriage and Relationships would have anything to do with Demography and Public Health, right?  Wrong.  In my Demography class, we just finished up a unit on mortality.  One of the things we noted was that married men live longer than single men.  In my Marriage and Relationships class (aka the best class ever), when we were discussing gender differences, we talked about how men reap more benefits from being married, including living longer, healthier lives (I'm paraphrasing a bit here).  Interesting, right?  Even if it's just minor details from different classes that connect to each other, it always reminds me that what I'm learning in each of my classes contributes to my overall "collection" of knowledge, rather than just being important in that one class.

Another great thing about Saint Mike's is that I have friends within my major, but many of my closest friends aren't psych majors.  This means that I get to hear about what they're doing in their classes - ones that I might not have the opportunity to take.  All of the students here are extremely passionate about what they're majoring in, which makes listening to them talk about their learning that much more exciting.  Even though I'm sure I'll be able to speak to this more a few years after graduation, I truly feel like I'm getting a well-rounded education here at Saint Mike's, and I couldn't be more thankful.

Here are some pictures of the snowy campus I don't think I've shared with you all yet (and that I have the privilege to see on my walk to class each day):

I was standing right in front of the library when I took this one.

Here you can see Hoehl (the Admissions building).

Have a great weekend everyone!  And to those of you participating in the overnight program on Sunday, have fun!

~Merrill

PS If you haven't heard, Saint Mike's now has a student run Instagram (knightlifevt), and I'm in charge of it this week, so feel free to check it out!
PPS This week I've been listening a mismatch of tunes, but this morning I was all about the band The Cab, specifically their album Symphony Soldier. (Thank you to my best friend Paige for introducing me to them!)