It’s hard to believe that I am already halfway through my second year at UT and that when May comes, I will be halfway through my college career!
This Fall, I am taking some new courses that I have never taken before and have learned so many new perspectives and outlooks from each of them. Two of my favorite where, Popular Culture and American Politics, and Introduction to Sociology.
From Popular Culture and American Politics (POLS 220), I learned how what we listen to, watch, read, participate in, and believe are all interconnected. It was fascinating to me to explore all the ways that the 1960’s changed through the use of popular media. I never thought about how, what I thought of as silly shows such as, MAS*H and Dr. Strangelove could portray the fears, values, and societal expectations of the time they were produced!
In my Introduction to Sociology course, I was captivated by the patterns of belief and behavior that keep returning to our collective consciousness. As well as being interested in how individual values and social rhetoric impact the way people interact with something as seemingly straightforward as justice with the often abnormally harsh drug punishments or three strikes laws. I also was intrigued by our ability, as humans, to have significant disdain for what we perceive as being “abnormal”, even when it is ourselves being described out of context. This is one of the main things I learned from reading about the Nacirema.
One of my favorite aspects of being in Chancellor’s Honors, besides the community service, is the amazing Becker Lecture Series that I am able to attend. This Fall I attended three of them and each was amazing. Some of my favorites were Adam Savage (yes, the guy from Mythbusters!!!) who came to give a talk on the importance of science and science education, and a lecture on Competition and trade in evolving microbial marketplaces. Both appealed to the science geeky side of me and I was fascinated through both of them.
Ever since my first Remote Area Medical (RAM) Clinic last February in Knoxville, I have loved this organization and its mission. RAM provides free healthcare to people across the country without asking questions and makes everyone they help feel valued and respected, regardless of their socioeconomic level. I love being a part of an organization that truly only wants to help people and show them love. This aligns so well with my personal values and is why I keep going back to help them with their clinics.
This Fall, I volunteered in two clinics in the East Tennessee region, and loved helping in both. At the one I volunteered at in Deer Lodge, TN RAM had also set up a free coat and clothing station so that people who could not afford new clothes or winter coats had something warm to wear. While I was working this clinic and helping with patient registration, I met a woman who came in with her fiance. They were a lovely couple, only a few years older than myself, but as I began to explain the releases she stopped me so she could go explain the releases to her fiance because he could not read. That shocked me. Someone who was close to my age could not read. All at once I felt an immediate connection and understanding of the importance of my sororities philanthropic focus, ending illiteracy. I finally began to understand how it impacts so many people across the United States and why it is so limiting.
The other clinic I volunteered with was in Gray, TN. It was during November and the weather was bitterly cold that night, and I distinctly remember pulling up to the parking lot and seeing the people who had camped and slept outside to get treatment at the Clinic since it was first come, first served. And I remember as I helped with patient registration, one of the women at the clinic shared with me that the people who were sleeping and camping were woken up every hour by the guards to make sure they were not suffering from hypothermia since many of them only had a reflective blanket. This was absolutely shocking to me and my heart filled with admiration and respect for these people who we were able to help, and that RAM was truly doing good work for people who needed it.
One of my favorite aspects of being in Chancellor’s Honors, besides the community service, is the amazing Becker Lecture Series that I am able to attend. This Fall I attended three of them and each was amazing. Some of my favorites were Adam Savage (yes, the guy from Mythbusters!!!) who came to give a talk on the importance of science and science education, and a lecture on Competition and trade in evolving microbial marketplaces. Both appealed to the science geeky side of me and I was fascinated through both of them.
This semester I also.accepted a part-time student position at Knoxville Utilities Board in Vegetation Management assisting in office and administrative tasks.
I was also so excited to talk to future Vols about being an Out of State Student here at UT with my local UT admissions counselor from home in Houston, TX! It was great to see her again and catch up about the past year!
Also this Fall, my sorority welcomed over 85 women of distinction into our chapter and I am blessed to call two of them my little sisters! While they may not be biological sisters, we have a shared love for sunrises, country music, and hiking to waterfalls so I think we are a pretty close second! I love helping them get their footing here at UT as they start their collegiate career, and can’t wait to see them bloom into the inspiring women I know they will be. Also, this year I am chair of the Alumnae Relations Committee for my sorority and have loved meeting the amazing alumnae of Pi Beta Phi who are here in the Knoxville area and making connections between them and our chapter here at UT.
I also have joined the Clay Target Team, here at the University of Tennessee, and absolutely love it! It is always fun to learn new things and skills with friends, and I really enjoy learning each of the clay target sports.
Also, the friendships I made during my CHP Study Abroad trip to Costa Rica last Spring are still going strong! Around Halloween, we caught up to watch Hocus Pocus at the UT Gardens and had a blast.
All in all, it has been an absolutely amazing semester for me, and the icing on the cake was being on the Dean’s List! I can’t wait to see what the next semester has in store for me.
As always, Go Vols!
Caroline
