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Today at Conn

An internal newsletter for the Connecticut College community

Announcements

Dear Conn College Community,
'Tis the season to show your spirit of giving!
Every year for the past 20 years, Connecticut College and the Holleran Center has participated in the New London Holiday Adopt-A-Family project to ensure that the holiday wishes of local New London children come true,
but we cannot do it without your support! Departments, sports teams, student clubs, individuals, families, etc. can participate by purchasing new gifts or gift cards for families in need in New London - see some suggestions below - and follow these simple steps (a little different than in past years):
1. Please wrap the gifts.
2. Attach a lightly-taped note to the gift that says what's inside, so that volunteers may match gifts with children/adults/families and then remove note.
3. Deliver gifts/gift cards to the Holleran Center on the first floor of Cro no later than Friday, December 6th. Holleran Center staff will deliver the gifts to the Adopt-a-Family Program in New London.
Your generosity is appreciated!
GIFT RECOMMENDATIONS (not limited to this list):
Gift Cards to local grocery stores (ShopRite and Walmart are most requested)
Socks, hat/gloves for kids all sizes
Hooded sweatshirts for kids all sizes
Sporting goods (Soccer balls, basketballs, footballs, baseball gloves and balls, bicycle helmets)
Legos
Megablocks
Magnatiles
LeapPad with game - Learning tablets
Action figures (Batman, Avengers, etc)
Paw Patrol toys
Dress up costumes
Remote Control toys with batteries
Shopkins
WowWee's Fingerlings
Dolls - all kinds
Dinosaur toys
Board games and puzzles
T-Ball Sets
Step 2 Toys
Age-appropriate books
Coloring books and crayons/markers
Art/crafts kits
Bicycles
Tricycles or riding toys
Questions may be addressed to Angela Barney, abarney@conncoll.edu or x5314.
Best,
Holleran Center Team

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The Offices of the Dean of the College and Dean of Students seek nominations of graduating students to speak at Commencement. Please take a moment to nominate a deserving senior by sending the student's name via email tommelende@conncoll.edu no later than November 29 (seniors may also nominate themselves). No formal letter is needed - just the student's name. All nominated students who are eligible (in good academic and social standing) will be contacted to encourage them to participate in the selection process.

Students who choose to participate in the selection process will be asked to prepare a draft speech that will resonate with the Class of 2020 and reflect the Colleges mission and values, and its commitment to put the Liberal Arts in Action, visit websites: https://www.conncoll.edu/at-a-glance/mission--values/ and https://www.conncoll.edu/connections/ . The selection committee comprised of students, faculty, and staff will review the submissions and select a group of finalists who will be interviewed and will present their speech to the selection committee in late March/early April. The selected speaker will be announced in late April. Thank you in advance for passing along the name(s) of graduating seniors who would excel in this role. If you have any questions please feel free to contact Marina Melendez, mmelende@conncoll.edu .

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Events Calendars

Featured Events

11/18

"This is not a diversity talk" John Asher Johnson 11/18

John Asher Johnson, Professor of Astronomy at Harvard with be giving a talk called "This is not a diversity talk".

Campus Events

11/19

Chris Herren Lecture

TBD

Campus Events

11/20

Film Screening - “La ultima cena," Cuba

Please contact nancy.lewandowski@conncoll.edu for more information

Campus Events

All Events

Connecticut College in the News

Social Media

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Google Plus

Youtube

The Experience

Eye of the Mind

Guest Blogger Hannah Megathlin

When I came to Conn, I was unsure about what I wanted to major in. I was considering biology as I had liked it in high school and had done well in it. But I was not ready to commit. I also knew that I loved Latin and classics, but I did not think that I wanted to major in those subjects because I thought I wouldn’t go into those fields after graduation. However, by the end of that semester, I changed my mind. I found myself leaning toward a biology and classics double major. The next semester I decided to officially declare those majors and made a plan to fit all the required courses into my next three years at Conn.

Off-Campus Bucket List

The Experience, Samirah Jaigirdar '22

As I moved through my first year, I increasingly started exploring Conn’s surroundings. In the beginning, as I didn’t have a car, I thought it was going to be hard to run any errands or even leave campus, but the Camel Van made it easy to reach downtown New London, the train station, Target/Walmart and even the bank. I began to discover hidden nooks and crannies around the area with my friends, which made our weekends more eventful.

Sampling Lobster

The Experience, Samirah Jaigirdar '22

One of the fun parts about going to college in a different country is all the new food I can sample. A friend of mine was shocked to discover that, even after being in the United States for a year and a half, I had never tried lobster. Hence, a trip to Captain Scott’s Lobster Dock in New London was planned.

Last Fall Break, First Maine Trip

The Experience, Mark McPhillips '20

During the summer following my first year at Conn, I embarked on a 14-state road trip with my friends Dani Maney ’20 and Samuel Piller ’20. We traveled great distances at once; at one point on the trip, we drove for 10 hours straight across the state of Pennsylvania. Since that road trip three years ago, I have not driven for longer than five hours nor have I rode shotgun or sat in the backseat for an extended period of time until now. Over Fall Break, my friends and I journeyed from Conn to Mount Desert Island in Maine. The drive was 6 1/2 hours each way, but the memories from the weekend were well worth it.

Condé Nast

The Experience, Daniella Maney ’20

Since I was young, I have had a summer job to help pass the time and make some extra money. Last summer, I was accepted into a fellowship with Condé Nast. I was beyond excited because not only would it be my first professional experience for a large company, but it also required me to relocate to New York City, where I have always wanted to live.

A Protest in Hong Kong

Guest Blogger Brett Stirling ’21

Brett Stirling ’21 is majoring in Economics and minoring in Finance and Government at Conn. He is a member of the Entrepreneurship Pathway and is also a member of the Connecticut College men's ice hockey team. It was a Sunday morning in early July on the southeast side of Hong Kong Island. I jumped on the MTR (the subway) and headed toward Tsim Sha Tsui, one of the busiest districts in Kowloon, Hong Kong. Upon arrival, I noticed the MTR was a little more crowded than usual. Thinking perhaps it was just a busy Sunday, I continued on my trip to the Ladies’ Market in search of a knockoff designer belt that my younger sister was in desperate need of. After spending an hour bartering with the locals and sweating in the Hong Kong heat, I decided it was time to lick my wounds and head back to Aberdeen, on the southwest side of Hong Kong, for the afternoon.

Learning My Fourth Language

The Experience, Samirah Jaigirdar '22

Last fall, prior to my arrival at Conn, I spent weeks browsing the College’s course catalog and reading the various major descriptions on the website. There were many interesting classes, but my curiosity was piqued by the College’s language requirement. Every student must complete at least two semesters of a foreign language, regardless of how many languages they already know. Over the summer, we received emails with a language study brochure (Connecticut College Language Study Brochure), which I read multiple times. The Dean of First Year Students, Emily Morash, told us that we were not required to take a language course in our first year but it is recommended so that we don’t have to worry about it in our junior or senior years. I studied French for five years and knew I wanted to start something new. But the question was: Which one? Currently, Conn offers courses in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Russian and Spanish.

From Making Coffee to Management

The Experience, Mark McPhillips '20

I start most days with an abrupt kick of caffeine and the wafting smells of fresh baked goods around me. I do not bake unless it’s in the microwave. But it turns out that you don’t need much baking experience to manage the baked goods schedule at a coffee shop, so long as you have a group of really talented bakers behind you. That’s one of my roles at The Coffee Closet, a student-run cafe on campus. I manage baking, as well as events and communications. In the spring of my first year, I was hired as a barista at The Coffee Closet. Two years later, I applied for a manager position and was accepted. A lot has changed since my first days serving coffee. For one thing, I only recently learned how to brew hot coffee. When I was a barista, I worked three two-hour shifts a week. Now I work triple that amount. My new role has given me the opportunity to hone my skills in business management, and as part of that role, I thought it was important to understand the process of how every drink is made, inside and out. I can’t manage a coffee shop if I can’t brew coffee.

Finding My Rhythm

The Experience, Daniella Maney ’20

My legs swing up as I try to move the top half of my body in a completely different motion than my legs. As I dance, I am listening carefully to the drums, waiting for the moment when the drummers play the break, which cues that the dance will transition to the next step. After an hour and 15 minutes of movement, our teacher, Associate Professor of Dance Shani Collins-Achille, tells us that class is over. We make our way over to the drummers and thank them by tapping the ground with our hands. Each day I leave class sweating, a little confused and smiling.

My Internship Journey

The Experience, Daniella Maney ’20

I started working when I turned 15 years old as a hostess at a Chinese-American restaurant and as a camp counselor at the YMCA Sports Camp. Although I really appreciate this work experience, which helped me learn many valuable skills, it was just the beginning of my professional career. Since then, I have graduated high school, completed three years of college and tried many positions in various fields as I continue to search for the best career path for me.

'Improv'ing One Last Time

The Experience, Mark McPhillips '20

It’s hard to believe I am mere weeks away from being a rising senior at Conn. After a few more papers and classes, I will be entering my last year at this place I have called home for three years. One of the bittersweet parts of my transition from junior to senior is less about me and more about the people I spend my time with. I’m in a short-form improv group on campus called N20. We meet three times a week to practice our performances. Two members of the group are seniors and this month they will perform their last show at Conn. I will miss their energy and presence but am excited for them too.

Four Years to the Camel Day

The Experience, Saadya Chevan '19

The email came the Monday before my senior recital, as I began preparing in earnest to stage my Ammerman Senior Integrative Project in addition to rehearsing with piano instructor Patrice Newman, my accompanist. “Dear Saadya, I am wondering if you might play your Carl Stamitz: Reimagined concerto for Clarinet and Audience at the [Camel Day] Music Forum on April 22 at 9:15 a.m. in Oliva Hall?” Admitted students are invited to Camel Days each year to help them get better acquainted with the College.

Today at Conn

An internal newsletter for the Connecticut College community

Announcements

Events Calendars

Featured Events

"This is not a diversity talk" John Asher Johnson 11/18

Chris Herren Lecture

Film Screening - “La ultima cena," Cuba

Recent News

Colin Forsyth ’15 wins international health care communication awards

Soccer players earn CoSIDA District II Academic All-America honors

All-College Symposium 2019

A conversation on race with Chief Justice Richard Robinson

Connecticut College in the News

Social Media

The Experience

Eye of the Mind

Guest Blogger Hannah Megathlin

Off-Campus Bucket List

The Experience, Samirah Jaigirdar '22

Sampling Lobster

The Experience, Samirah Jaigirdar '22

Last Fall Break, First Maine Trip

The Experience, Mark McPhillips '20

Condé Nast

The Experience, Daniella Maney ’20

A Protest in Hong Kong

Guest Blogger Brett Stirling ’21

Learning My Fourth Language

The Experience, Samirah Jaigirdar '22

From Making Coffee to Management

The Experience, Mark McPhillips '20

Finding My Rhythm

The Experience, Daniella Maney ’20

My Internship Journey

The Experience, Daniella Maney ’20

'Improv'ing One Last Time

The Experience, Mark McPhillips '20

Four Years to the Camel Day

The Experience, Saadya Chevan '19